FII7 Highlights Importance of AI

The seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (FII)
The seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (FII)
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FII7 Highlights Importance of AI

The seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (FII)
The seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (FII)

The seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday under the theme “The New Compass,” focusing on Artificial Intelligence on its first day.

The conference presented a comprehensive overview of AI reality and several recommendations and solutions to ensure its safe and responsible use.

One of the conference’s sessions discussed the rapidly evolving AI models and how they shape the global economy, enabling small teams to develop science and technology and advance humanity.

The developments are driven by rapid advances in computing power, exponential growth in the volume of labeled data, significant reductions in training costs, increased capital directed toward developing AI, and democratized access to its advanced models.

Artificial intelligence faces short and medium-term global challenges, including the use of AI for disinformation, cyber-attacks and biological weapons.

However, the impact of AI challenges and the level of preparedness to confront them remains the major challenge, as world leaders must be ready to act within the framework of appropriate governance and policies.

The session presented recommendations to governments and the private and investment sectors:

- Boosting AI alignment: all AI companies must document and disclose how they are committed to implementing AI alignment, developing a set of basic requirements for releasing AI models, and supporting the development of early warning systems.

AI developers must conduct comprehensive model assessments before release, make the assessment results publicly available, and increase funding for top-level AI alignment research.

- Establish a unified and inclusive governance regime for AI: global challenges associated with AI can only be addressed through a global approach, including appropriate representation of emerging markets.

- Prepare for the transition: active investment in skills development and social safety net to ensure a just transition for workers displaced by AI.

Recommendations for the private sector and investment sector:

- Promote transparency and accountability: ensuring a greater commitment, transparency, and accountability to AI alignment by establishing plans detailing the strategies and processes that will be implemented to deliver it.

- Reducing artificial intelligence challenges: governments should cooperate to develop sufficient global response capacity, adopt a safety-based approach to developing AI, and ensure the security of its modern facilities and systems.

The initiative seeks to become a leading global platform through its commitment to working on solutions that everyone can adopt, building a shared understanding of this technology, and investing to increase global response capacity.

FII will establish an AI Coalition, bringing together investors, corporations, government leaders, and academics from developed and emerging markets to engage in a frank and candid dialogue on the critical issue of AI alignment.



UK Inflation Falls to 3.0% in January

Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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UK Inflation Falls to 3.0% in January

Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain's annual ‌rate of consumer price inflation fell to 3.0% in January from 3.4% in December, official figures showed on Wednesday.

A Reuters poll of economists had shown a median forecast of 3.0% in January and the Bank of England projected earlier this month that the headline measure of inflation would slow to ‌2.9%.

British inflation ‌has run higher than in ‌the ⁠United States and in ⁠the euro zone where it stood at 2.4% and 1.7% respectively in January.

But the BoE expects the pace of price rises to slow sharply to almost its 2% target in ⁠April as last year's rises ‌in utility costs and ‌other government-controlled tariffs fall out of ‌the annual comparison.

Investors expect the central bank ‌to cut its benchmark interest rate to 3.5% at its next meeting in March after a tight vote to keep borrowing costs ‌on hold in February although some policymakers remain worried about underlying ⁠inflation ⁠pressure.

Financial markets on Tuesday also priced a second quarter-point interest rate cut by the BoE by the end of in 2026.

ONS data last week painted a downbeat picture of Britain's economy at the end of 2025 with output barely growing. Figures released on Tuesday showed the labor market was still losing jobs although there were some signs of a stabilization.


Riyadh to Host Middle East’s Largest General Aviation Airshow in November 

The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)
The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)
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Riyadh to Host Middle East’s Largest General Aviation Airshow in November 

The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)
The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)

The Saudi Aviation Club announced that it will organize the AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 in Riyadh from November 24 to 28, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The event is set to be the largest of its kind for general aviation in the Middle East, combining international business, investment, and innovation with live flying displays and interactive public experiences. It is being held in partnership with Messe Frankfurt Saudi Arabia.

Held at Thumamah Airport, the exhibition will bring together leading global companies operating in the general aviation industry, including aircraft and components manufacturers, avionics and navigation systems providers, as well as maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) companies, offering an integrated platform that covers the full value chain of the sector.

The event will also spotlight startups in advanced air mobility (AAM) and innovators of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, showcasing technologies and business models shaping the future of aviation.

General Supervisor of the Saudi Aviation Club Dr. Ahmed Alfahaid stated that AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 represents a qualitative leap for the Kingdom’s aviation sector and reinforces its positioning as a global hub for general aviation and advanced air mobility.

The partnership with Messe Frankfurt Saudi Arabia goes beyond presenting global innovations to providing a vital platform for international investment and strategic collaboration, he stressed.

Moreover, the event contributes to achieving Saudi Vision 2030 objectives, including the Kingdom’s ambition to rank among the world’s top 10 general aviation markets, he added.


Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan Agree to Establish Coordination Council

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz receives Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz receives Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev in Riyadh. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan Agree to Establish Coordination Council

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz receives Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz receives Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev in Riyadh. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan agreed to establish a Saudi-Kazakh Coordination Council, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz received in Riyadh Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev. Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Yerlan Akkenzhenov also attended the meeting.

The talks tackled the establishment of the coordination council, which will be chaired by the Saudi minister of energy and Kazakhstan’s foreign minister. The council reflects the two countries’ commitment to strengthening cooperation and expanding their bilateral partnership.

Prince Abdulaziz and Kosherbayev signed an agreement on the establishment of the council, which aims to boost coordination and consultation between the two countries and develop frameworks for cooperation across various sectors of mutual interest, elevating bilateral relations to broader levels.

Prince Abdulaziz and Kosherbayev discussed relations between their countries and ways to develop them further, especially in the energy field. They tackled opportunities for cooperation and investment in renewable energy and energy storage systems and discussed oil market developments.