San Francisco Frontiers - Saudis showcase charm offensive in Davos

Saudi officials and business leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the meeting of the world's global elites every year, with this year's delegation counting 57 people.

Nine ministers made the trip this time, the most from any country, with some participating in panel discussions alongside other powerbrokers from around the world.

The "Saudi At Davos" building, where the delegation hosts guests, overlooks the congress centre hosting the WEF talks where world leaders and entrepreneurs hold their annual talkfest.

A European official who attends major international conferences said the Saudis have a "strong" presence at formal events such as G20 or IMF meetings or informal ones like the WEF.

"The delegations even seem large by our standards," he said on condition of anonymity.

Saudi Arabia began to increase its footprint in global events after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his Vision 2030 reform agenda in 2016, an official said.

Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has held its own annual "Davos in the Desert" conference, officially dubbed the Future Investment Initiative (FII), to showcase the crown prince's vision of diversifying the country's oil-dependent economy.

It hosted a special meeting of the WEF in Riyadh last year and announced in Davos on Thursday that it would become a regular feature.

"We are a key player in the world, the world economy. And we need to punch at our weight (category)," Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told AFP on the sidelines of the WEF.

- 'It's about visibility' -

The kingdom has used soft power diplomacy as part of a global charm offensive for a country that has been criticised over human rights abuses, including the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It hosts Formula 1 races and professional golf tournaments. In 2021, the Saudi Public Investment Fund bought the Newcastle United football club in England.

It scored a major coup last year when it was selected to host the 2034 World Cup.

"It is about visibility. It's about leadership," Karen Young, a political economist at the Middle East Institute in Washington, told AFP.

The Saudi efforts are aimed at two audiences, domestic and international, Young said.

"This is really to demonstrate to Saudi citizens that there is a government that's interested in what people want, especially what young people (want)," she said. "That's the first priority."

Two-thirds of the Saudi population is under 30 years old.

- 'Good economic investment' -

"The second priority is this visibility on the international stage," she said.

The focus on sports is "a conscious decision by the government to say, 'hey, we're here, we're part of a bigger community'," she said.

The European politician said Saudi diplomacy "is deeply rooted as a value in their economic interests".

The sports industry contributed $6.9 billion to Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product last year, compared to $2.4 billion in 2016, according to figures from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

"For us, to invest in sports and entertainment and culture to attract investors is actually a very good economic investment," Jadaan said.

D.Robinson--SFF