Saudi Arabia: A Home for Summits and a Compass for the World
Saudi Arabia has consolidated its Arab, Islamic, and international leadership in hosting global summits and conferences, becoming a beacon of dialogue, a platform for decision-making, and a widely recognized model to follow. Over decades, the Kingdom has hosted numerous summits bringing together world leaders to discuss issues and devise effective solutions to shared challenges, from Islamic, Arab, and global summits to international conferences and meetings. These gatherings take many forms, with the Kingdom remaining their constant central pillar, at the forefront of efforts for peace, sustainable development, the interests of peoples, and the benefit of all humanity.
The year 2024, whose final days have yet to unfold, reinforced this Saudi approach, with the Kingdom hosting numerous summits and conferences across politics, economics, security, the environment, and other fields, consolidating its regional and international standing and influence.
A Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report highlights some of the international summits, conferences, and meetings held during the year through December 2. Politically, the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit held in Riyadh on November 11, 2023, established an Arab-Islamic ministerial committee chaired by the Kingdom. It helped shape international action to end the war in Gaza, including the launch of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in cooperation with the European Union and Norway. Riyadh hosted the alliance's first meeting on October 30, 2024.
Continuing these efforts, under the gracious directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud—may God support him—and building on the efforts of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister—may God protect him—in coordination with leaders of fellow Arab and Islamic countries, Riyadh hosted the Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit on November 11, 2024. Economically, Riyadh hosted the third Future Minerals Forum on January 9–11, 2024, with more than 14,000 participants from 133 countries, including investment leaders, heads of major mining companies, experts, and technical specialists, alongside 100 sponsors and exhibitors. Its 70 sessions featured 250 speakers, including ministers, ambassadors, and heads of participating national delegations.
On January 24, 2024, Riyadh hosted the Real Estate Future Forum, with around 300 speakers from 85 countries representing the public and private sectors, alongside leading economists, investors, decision-makers, and real estate ecosystem experts from Saudi Arabia and abroad. The forum resulted in 50 agreements and memoranda of understanding worth more than SAR 100 billion in total. On April 28–29, 2024, Riyadh hosted the World Economic Forum Special Meeting, attended by heads of state and more than 1,000 senior officials, international experts, opinion leaders, and thinkers from government, business, international organizations, and academic institutions in 92 countries, recording the forum's largest attendance outside Davos. The capital also hosted the third Future Aviation Forum on May 20–22, 2024, with more than 8,500 global aviation experts and leaders. High-level attendance included 31 ministers and 77 civil aviation authority leaders from 130 countries. The conference resulted in 102 memoranda, agreements, and deals worth over SAR 75 billion.
Riyadh hosted the inaugural 24 Fintech international conference on September 3–5, 2024, launching numerous products and initiatives that demonstrated the development of a promising sector aligned with national ambitions to make the Kingdom a global hub in the field. Riyadh also hosted the inaugural Global Logistics Forum on October 12 and 14, 2024, with more than 130 global transport and logistics experts and leaders and 13,000 visitors. Attendees included more than 15 ministers and 77 transport and logistics leaders representing over 30 countries.
With broad participation from global leaders, policymakers, and industry experts, the Kingdom hosted the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum (MIPF) on October 23–24, 2024. Participants included ministers, industrial transformation leaders from around the world, and experts, thinkers, investors, and researchers at the local, regional, and international levels. On October 27–28, 2024, Riyadh hosted the Global PropTech Summit, featuring 50 scientific and dialogue sessions and 40 workshops delivered by more than 100 speakers from 80 countries, with around 9,000 attendees. Seeking to turn today's challenges into tomorrow's opportunities and build a vibrant future for the global economy and humanity, Riyadh hosted the eighth Future Investment Initiative conference on October 29–31, 2024, with heads of state, leading investors and innovators, international corporate leaders, and prominent decision-makers from around the world.
Riyadh hosted the tenth Biban 24 forum on November 5–9, 2024, with more than 250 local and international speakers, 1,350 entrepreneurial exhibitors, and 150 enabling organizations providing services and initiatives to empower and support entrepreneurs. Biban 24 also hosted the Entrepreneurship World Cup finals. The forum yielded agreements and launches worth more than SAR 35.4 billion to support entrepreneurship across several sectors and achieve national targets for increasing SMEs' contribution to GDP. Continuing this economic momentum, Riyadh hosted the second Cityscape Global 2024 on November 11–14, the world's largest real estate exhibition. It drew broad participation from developers and leading global investors, including more than 100 international institutional investors, and over 172,000 visitors. More than 400 exhibitors represented prominent brands and major local and international companies, with international companies accounting for 47% of participants. More than 550 speakers, including leading experts and industry leaders from over 50 countries, took part, and the total value of real estate transactions exceeded SAR 230 billion.
Reflecting the leadership's commitment—may God support it—to organizing an international exhibition ranked among the world's best in defense and security, and affirming the Kingdom's ambition to be a global exhibition hub across all fields, particularly military industries, the second World Defense Show was held on February 4–8, 2024. It was attended by defense ministers and senior officials from fellow and friendly countries. The show recorded 61 purchase contracts worth SAR 26 billion, with 773 exhibitors and 441 official delegations representing 116 countries, and welcomed 106,000 visitors. Across its days, 73 agreements were signed, including 17 industrial participation agreements.
In technology, Saudi Arabia hosted its first Global Smart City Forum on February 12–13, 2024, with 100 speakers representing 40 countries. Attendees included members of royal families, ministers, smart-city and artificial intelligence experts, economic policymakers, senior public- and private-sector officials, and investors from around the world. The third LEAP 24 international technology conference was also held from March 13 to 7, 2024, recording launches and investments worth USD 13.4 billion that will open new horizons for this vital sector. Riyadh hosted the third Global AI Summit on September 10–12, 2024, featuring more than 465 speakers and distinguished local, regional, and international figures, economic policymakers, thought leaders, and AI specialists from 100 countries, participating in more than 150 sessions and workshops.
To strengthen international cooperation and collective action on vital, strategic issues in cyberspace, the fourth Global Cybersecurity Forum opened in Riyadh on October 2, 2024. It featured high-level international officials, including presidents, ministers, decision-makers, policymakers, thought leaders, and chief executives from more than 120 countries. This edition also hosted the Child Protection in Cyberspace Global Summit. In healthcare, the seventh Global Health Exhibition, held on October 21–23, 2024, welcomed 105,000 visitors, with a reported 72% figure for international visitors, and participation from 505 speakers, 1,000 investors, and 1,240 brands. Deals and investments exceeded SAR 50 billion.
The Jeddah Declaration, issued at the fourth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) held on November 15–16, 2024, marks a starting point for the global response to antimicrobial resistance, an urgent threat to public health, food security, and sustainable development.
To promote understanding and cooperation among Islamic schools of thought, Makkah hosted the international conference Building Bridges Between Islamic Schools of Thought on March 16, 2024, with senior Islamic figures, muftis, and leading scholars from different schools. As part of the Kingdom's efforts to strengthen its role in social responsibility, Riyadh hosted the inaugural Global CSR Forum on October 28–29, 2024, attended by ministers and leading chief executives, experts, specialists, and decision-makers in social responsibility from Saudi Arabia and abroad. The forum included 40 panel discussions delivered by more than 100 experts from 60 countries and the signing of 14 agreements and memoranda of understanding between public and private entities.
Reflecting the Kingdom's commitment to enriching global dialogue on human capability development and promoting actionable strategies and solutions that inspire progress, Riyadh hosted the Human Capability Initiative conference on February 28–29. It attracted more than 10,000 participants from over 100 countries, with more than 250 speakers across 100 discussions, dialogues, and keynote addresses. Around 50 memoranda of understanding and agreements were signed to strengthen international cooperation in developing human capabilities. Consistent with the Kingdom's longstanding approach of taking the initiative in fields that matter to humanity and affect people's lives, it devoted close attention to environmental and climate issues. Riyadh hosted the first International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms on March 4–6, 2024, with leading representatives of global organizations and more than 200 researchers and experts from within and outside the Kingdom.
Riyadh hosted the second ministerial meeting of the Net-Zero Producers Forum on May 16, 2024, with its six member countries spanning three continents: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Norway, and Canada. Hosting the meeting reflected the Kingdom's pivotal global leadership and continuing efforts to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Jeddah also hosted the 38th International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) meeting on September 9–13, 2024. Experts, researchers, and decision-makers in marine environmental protection from Saudi Arabia and abroad gathered to exchange expertise and knowledge and discuss future directions and current challenges in protecting coral reefs.
Reaffirming the Kingdom's commitment to protecting nature, Riyadh will tomorrow host the fourth Saudi Green Initiative Forum under the theme Action Is in Our Nature. This leading climate and environmental event coincides with the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16), held on December 2–13. Riyadh COP16 is the largest-ever gathering of parties to the convention, the first held in the Middle East, and the largest multilateral conference ever hosted by the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia's presidency will launch the pioneering Riyadh Global Drought Initiative to accelerate international efforts against drought and ensure a more cohesive, proactive global approach to this worldwide crisis.
Strengthening the world's capacity to confront drought is central to the Riyadh COP16 agenda. The high-level One Water Summit will take place in Riyadh on December 3 to discuss global water scarcity and related challenges. Announced on the sidelines of COP28 in partnership with Saudi Arabia, the summit aims to strengthen global water governance and will include French President Emmanuel Macron, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and World Bank President Ajay Banga.
This year's annual forum is scheduled to bring together hundreds of policymakers, business leaders, and experts from around the world at the Saudi Green Initiative pavilion in the Green Zone at Riyadh COP16. Numerous specialist sessions will explore best practices, review the latest innovations, and assess progress toward the initiative's targets, as part of continuing efforts to expand cooperation and accelerate work toward a more sustainable future. Saudi Arabia thus advances along a clearly defined path, guided by wise leadership and an ambitious vision, championing initiatives across all fields to remain the world's beating heart and a center of inspiration and influence.
