Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (second from left) and other participants attend the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Oct. 24, 2017. The crown prince pledged a "moderate, open" Saudi Arabia, breaking with conservative religious leaders in favor of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth. He also announced plans to construct the NEOM project, a modern city on the coast of northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is again paving the way for a more diversified economy. The country kicked off the Future Investment Initiative on Oct. 24, in hopes of furthering its efforts to attract foreign investment. The crown jewel of the event was the unveiling of the $500 billion NEOM project by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman . The project — which takes "neo" from the Latin word for new and "m" from the Arabic word for future (mostaqbal) — aims to develop a 26,500-square-kilometer megacity in northwestern Saudi Arabia within an independent economic zone that stretches into Egypt and Jordan. It's an ambitious plan , one that could put Saudi Arabia on the map as a leader in developing the cities of the future using new technologies that other cities cannot.
