There won’t be any official Australian representation at Riyadh’s Future Investment Initiative aka “Davos in the desert” in light of Saudi Arabia admitting the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a press release Saturday from Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Marise Payne.
The statement says that “Australia deplores the killing of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi” and extends “our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” calling him a “strong voice for freedom of expression.”
Australia joins a list of several major nations and investors pulling out the of the conference including the US, France, UK and the Netherlands.