Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus will visit Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to participate in the ninth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII Nine) in Riyadh from October 27 to 30.

A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the visit on Tuesday.

According to the source, Professor Yunus had received the invitation to FII Nine earlier and has accepted it. The event is conference-style, where he has been allocated a session to present a paper.

In addition, he will hold bilateral meetings with several visiting heads of government and showcase investment opportunities in Bangladesh.

Top officials, including Foreign Affairs Adviser Tauhid Hossain and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Ashique Chowdhury, will accompany him on the visit.

Earlier in July, the Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh, Dr. Abdullah Jafar bin Abiyah, handed over the official invitation to the Chief Adviser in Dhaka.

At that time, Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar, Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, said that this marked the first time a Bangladeshi head of government had been invited to this key Saudi investment forum, which has been held annually since 2017.

In previous editions, heads of state from various countries have attended the FII. Last year, the 2024 edition saw participation from over 8,500 delegates, including global CEOs.

According to reports by Arab News, this year’s forum will feature world leaders, CEOs, and officials including Lawrence Fink, CEO of BlackRock; Amin Nasser, President of Saudi Aramco; and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund. Across 230 sessions, more than 600 speakers will share their insights, including heads of state, investors, and multinational company executives.