Blinken due in Saudi Arabia for WEF summit on global economy and Gaza: Organisers

RIYADH: Washington's top diplomat is among leaders expected at a Saudi-hosted economic summit set to begin on Sunday (Apr 28) with a strong focus on the grinding war in Gaza, organisers said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be "coming in directly from his visits in China and on his way to Israel," Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum (WEF), told a press conference on Saturday in Riyadh.

Other participants at the two-day WEF special meeting include Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and foreign ministers and prime ministers from across the Middle East and Europe.

These include foreign ministers from France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the EU and prime ministers from Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, according to a WEF press release.

Singapore's Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohamad Maliki Osman will also be in Riyadh for the WEF special meeting.

Dr Maliki, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, will also participate in a luncheon of world economic leaders and take part in the Joint Regional Strategy Dialogue: ASEAN-GCC. 

A total of 12 heads of state and government feature among the more than 1,000 participants, Brende said on Saturday.

"There is some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages, and also for ... a possible way out of the impasse we are faced with in Gaza," Brende said, without elaborating.

He added there will be discussions about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, as well as the "regional aspects with Iran".

Saudi Arabia has never recognised Israel but was considering doing so before the Oct 7 attack, and talks continue on a deal that would also see Riyadh and Washington bolster their security partnership.

Saudi officials fear the war in Gaza and a potential regional conflagration could stymie the Gulf kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 social and economic reform agenda, which is meant to lay the groundwork for an eventual post-oil future.