Davos Day 3: UAE new 'Swiss' and MBS 'bullish' on AI

Welcome back to Al-Monitor’s Davos coverage, where we watch on the ground as meetings get canceled, world leaders take the main stage and business leaders do their best to dodge political questioning. 

On the top of the docket, Blinken said that a two-state solution “could weaken Iran and help isolate it in the region,” telling the Davos attendees that Trump pulling out of the 2018 Iran nuclear deal was a “big mistake.” For any of our US government readers, while the secretary of state might be stuck in Switzerland due to a critical aircraft, Boeing, error, you’re still expected to be “on the job,” according to exclusive reporting from Al-Monitor that administration officials were set to walk off on Tuesday.  

Scoot over Silicon Valley, Riyadh has arrived — Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha told Al-Monitor’s Andrew Parasiliti and Jack Dutton that reaching net zero without space tech is "wishful thinking,” saying the country has more tech workers than the bygone hills of Palo Alto. And, per Alswaha, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is "bullish" on AI, joining the likes of the UAE, which has a dedicated AI minister. 

Quote of the day: As the panels passed by faster than one could jot down all the colorful quips, perhaps the most bullish quote came from UAE's Abdulla bin Touq, minister of economy, saying it was the new "Swiss" of the Gulf, striving to be an ally to both old and new trade partners in an age marked by "friendshoring."

Canceled! No regards to be sent 

While WEF attendees are bound by round the clock schedules, things are subject to change as happened when meetings between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Mustafa Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, with Iranian officials, were canceled at the World Economic Forum, Al-Monitor’s Amberin Zaman wrote. The reasoning? Iraqi officials, not for attribution say, the cancellation is in apparent protest of the ballistic missile attack carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard late Monday evening.

For Middle East watchers, panel Middle East Conflict: What’s the End Game? seemed like quite the ambitious title, but as the discussion began, the topic turned to Houthi fighters with Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, vice president of the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen and UN envoy to Syria Geir O. Pedersen present.  Al-Zubaidi said that if the situation in Yemen remains untamed, it will lead to a “humanitarian crisis.” It appears the US believes in the rebel group’s threat, redesignating Yemen’s Houthis as a terror group amid Red Sea attacks as the Davos panels were well underway Wednesday. 

While Barzani skipped out on meeting with certain regional counterparts, he mingled with others, writing that he was “pleased to see his friend” French President Macron at the Swiss Alps gathering a day after meeting with Blinken on the sidelines of the conference. 

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Business as usual 

Into day three, regional industry and finance tycoons pushed to keep politics out of their dealings — Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said, “I believe that the global supply chain dynamics need to be driven by market dynamics and not politics,” which was quite the statement at Supply Chains of the Future, as geopolitical spats unfold regarding commercial shipping vessels facing attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen, who claim solidarity to Gaza. 

If you had on your WEF 2024 bingo card that climate would have been one of Saudi Arabia's main talking points, you might have hit the jackpot — while Alswaha spoke to Al-Monitor about the role of technology in net zero, his counterpart, Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir, minister of state for foreign affairs, said that the country doesn’t see itself as an oil exporter but rather as an “energy” exporter, preferring not to be defined only by its oil, as it has efforts underway to invest in renewable resources.

And, if you want to see for yourself, Marco Arcelli, chief executive officer of ACWA Power, wants to sell you on a green hotel stay at the company’s latest project for Red Sea Global. Arcelli, who moved to the desert kingdom ten months ago, said the hotels in Red Sea Global, a  "giga project" travel destination wholly owned by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, are using “100% renewable power” resourced by ACWA. 

Amid the chatter of Saudi’s plans, Oman's Economy Minister Said Mohammed Ahmed Al-Saqri made a bid to investors Wednesday, saying that while the country is blessed with natural resources, citing an abundance of “sunshine” as one, it has renewable energy, such as green hydrogen plans, underway. 

Stay tuned

As the World Economic Forum enters its third day, Al-Monitor has its eyes on the Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani interview, a panel on MENA’s Economic Dilemma and a discussion on Saudi Arabia’s plan ahead. Al-Monitor's Jack Dutton is also interviewing International Atomic Energy Agency's Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi about Iran's nuclear ambitions.  

— Kristen Talman