WEF24: Saudi Arabia reiterates call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, de-escalation in the Red Sea, to ensure regional stability

Saudi Arabia reinforced its call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and an end to the spiraling volatility in the Red Sea, today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024.

Speaking at a session on ‘Securing an Insecure World’, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, said: “We need to focus on the immediate crisis which is the suffering that is happening in Gaza.

“The international community has been moving more in the direction that we have called for since the beginning, which is a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid. But we need to do more. We agree that regional peace includes peace for Israel, but that can only happen through peace for the Palestinians, through a Palestinian state.”

On the escalating volatility in the Red Sea, His Highness added: “Freedom of navigation in the Red Sea is something that impacts all of us, and the priority needs to be de-escalation.”

During a panel session on “Frictionless Services”, His Excellency Dr. Majid A. Alkassabi, Minister of Commerce, described the speed and scale of Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification, saying The Kingdom “has revamped over 200 laws and bylaws to make the business environment attractive.”

His Excellency Adel A. Aljubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Member of the Council of Ministers, and Envoy for Climate, Member of the Council of Ministers and Envoy for Climate Affairs reiterated the need for substantive global collaboration to tackle the climate crisis, saying, “unless we work together, we are going to achieve nothing,” in a session as part of the new Saudi House: Bold Visions Series – the Kingdom’s pavilion connecting policymakers and innovators.

In ‘Gulf Economies: All In,’ His Excellency Khalid A. Al Falih, Minister of Investment, shared his optimistic outlook for the Gulf, noting how “the GCC is attracting FDI at more than twice the average rate than around the world when you compare it and normalize it for GDP. We believe we are at inflection point of increase of FDI, as we have seen in Saudi Arabia.”

In a session on ‘Regulating Non-Banks’, His Excellency Mohammed Aljadaan, Minister of Finance, warned governments not to “kill innovation” and deprive the private sector from investment opportunities by applying blanket regulatory frameworks to banks and non-regulated financial institutions, alike.

In a session on ‘AI: The Great Equaliser’, His Excellency Abdullah A. Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said the Kingdom’s consistency on being “pro-innovation, pro-partnership” has harnessed emerging technologies like Generative AI to build a human-centric future.

His Excellency Bandar I. Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, highlighted Saudi Arabia’s “three dimensional” policy approach to building industrial capabilities and creating an investor-friendly environment to unlock the untapped potential of Saudi Arabia’s vast mineral assets.