Saudi hosts 'Davos in desert' as outrage fades over critic's murder

Dozens of global policymakers and tycoons will attend a Saudi investment summit starting Tuesday, helping the kingdom turn the page on a critic's murder that triggered a mass boycott last year.

A strong turnout at the three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII), nicknamed "Davos in the desert", would further rehabilitate de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's image, a year on from the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Washington Post columnist's murder last October at Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate triggered one of the top crude exporter's worst crises and prompted a wave of business and political leaders to pull out of the glitzy annual conference at the last minute.

But the event, aimed at projecting the insular kingdom as a dynamic investment destination, is set for a reboot this year as global outrage dissipates.

Leading the high-profile attendees are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, guests of honour who are set to .