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Fortune Forum Cements Riyadh’s Role as Global Trade, Innovation Hub

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Fortune Forum Cements Riyadh’s Role as Global Trade, Innovation Hub

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

International business leaders are turning their attention to Riyadh, where Saudi Arabia will host the Fortune Global Forum for the first time on October 26–27, in a move underscoring the Kingdom’s growing status as a global economic hub and a center for shaping future business decisions.

Executives from Fortune and Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences said holding the forum in Riyadh marks a new phase in the Kingdom’s economic transformation and reflects international confidence in its ability to help shape the future of the global economy.

New Horizons

Anastasia Nyrkovskaya, Chief Executive Officer of Fortune Media, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Fortune’s mission is to follow business wherever it thrives and evolves. She said Riyadh was chosen out of a belief that understanding global business transformations requires understanding what is happening in Saudi Arabia.

Hosting the Fortune Global Forum in Saudi Arabia affirms the Kingdom’s position at the forefront of global business change, Nyrkovskaya said.

She added that the forum builds on a series of Fortune events launched this year in the Kingdom, including the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit held in Riyadh in May — the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia.

Global Hub

Nyrkovskaya said Fortune sees a compelling reason to be in Saudi Arabia, a country undergoing transformational growth that is solidifying Riyadh’s position as a global center for trade, innovation and investment.

On the forum’s themes, she said artificial intelligence is fundamental to the future of business, and the event will provide an open platform to discuss its impacts across industries. The agenda, she added, has been deliberately designed to cover topics ranging from sports and media to trade and finance, encouraging rich dialogue among decision-makers capable of shaping real outcomes.

This kind of direct interaction between business leaders cannot easily be replicated by large-scale events, she noted.

The forum enables face-to-face meetings between CEOs, policymakers and leaders of influential institutions worldwide.

A Thriving Events Sector

Hatim Alkahily, Acting CEO of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences, said Riyadh’s selection to host the Fortune Global Forum reflects the Kingdom’s emergence as a global hub for business events.

He noted that over the past four years, the Kingdom’s exhibitions and conferences sector has experienced unprecedented growth, with more than 17,000 events held annually — including major conferences, trade fairs and global forums, making it the most active in the region.

Alkahily told Asharq Al-Awsat the expansion aligns with Vision 2030, which has made the events industry a key contributor to the national economy and a driver for investment, tourism, technology and energy.

More than 20 leading international exhibition organizers have now chosen Saudi Arabia as their regional base, he said.

Hosting the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh, Alkahily added, is more than a global event, it is a reaffirmation of international confidence in Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and its growing role as a center for dialogue and future decision-making.

Opportunities for Collaboration

He said the forum’s focus on topics such as artificial intelligence and advanced supply chains reflects the core of global economic transformation, in which Saudi Arabia plays an integral part.

The Kingdom is investing heavily in future-oriented sectors, he noted, and uses platforms like this forum to connect global industry leaders with local counterparts to explore cooperation opportunities.

Alkahily said the event’s presence in Riyadh symbolizes the Kingdom’s evolution from a host of international gatherings into a driving force shaping the global economic agenda.

The country’s event infrastructure is expanding rapidly, with plans to add more than one million square meters of new exhibition and conference space by 2030 across Riyadh, Jeddah, the Eastern Province and Asir — forming the region’s largest integrated network of venues.

He added that the partnership between the authority and Fortune represents a new model of international collaboration that combines government vision with private-sector innovation.

“These global forums in Riyadh don’t end when the event concludes,” Alkahily said.

“They mark the beginning of ongoing partnerships that open new horizons for international collaboration and strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a global center for business, innovation and sustainable investment.”

A Global Outlook

The Fortune Global Forum will examine the driving forces behind major shifts in the world economy, from historic advances in artificial intelligence and rising geopolitical tensions to the impact of changing trade policies on global markets and supply chains.

It will also highlight transformations across the Gulf, where regional economies are pivoting from energy dependence to strengthening their financial leadership, creating new opportunities for public-private partnerships and redrawing the map of global business and investment cooperation.

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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.