Alphabet’s
**Google** on 15 October became the latest company to drop out of a business conference in Saudi Arabia. Pressure has mounted on Saudi Arabia since prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident, Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi policies,
**went missing** . He was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. Google said in a statement that Google Cloud Chief Executive
**Diane Greene** would not attend the Future Investment Initiative Summit scheduled to be held in Riyadh starting 23 October. [caption id=“attachment_5348761” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Google logo. Image: Reuters[/caption] Google’s Greene did not offer a reason for her action, and a spokesman declined to elaborate. Other business leaders who have said they would not attend the conference, including
**Uber** Chief Executive
**Dara Khosrowshahi** , said they were concerned about Khashoggi’s disappearance. Earlier this year Google announced that it would work with a Saudi agency to open five innovation hubs in the country to train aspiring technologists.
Businesses are not attending the Saudi investor conference due to Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Advertisement
End of Article