RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Saudi crown prince is to make his first international speech since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Mohammed bin Salman is to address the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh on Wednesday afternoon.

The summit is the prince’s brainchild, an effort to draw much-needed foreign direct investment into the kingdom to create jobs for its young population.

However, this year’s summit has been overshadowed by the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi. Turkish officials say the writer was killed by a 15-man Saudi hit squad that included a member of Prince Mohammed’s entourage on overseas trips.

Saudi Arabia has suggested, without offering evidence, that the team went rogue.

Many international business leaders have pulled out of attending the summit over Khashoggi’s slaying.

More: Turkey says Jamal Khashoggi 'ferociously murdered' by Saudi Arabian hit squad

Related: CIA Director Gina Haspel headed to Turkey amid looming questions about death of Jamal Khashoggi</s>Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi will produce the truth about what happened.

Adel al-Jubeir also pledged that mechanisms will be put in place so that “something like this can never happen again”.

He spoke on Tuesday in Indonesia, just hours before Turkey’s president is expected to detail his own country’s findings into the matter. Jamal Khashoggi has not been seen since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday October 2 (CCTV/TRT World/AP)

Mr al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia is committed to ensuring “that the investigation is thorough and complete and that the truth is revealed and that those responsible will be held to account”.

Saudi Arabia has acknowledged that Mr Kashoggi died on October 2 during a visit to the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

The country maintains he died in a “fistfight”.

Turkish officials said the 59-year-old was attacked and killed by a 15-man Saudi team.- Press Association</s>The Saudi king and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received family members of murdered Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh on Tuesday, state news agency SPA reported.

The royals greeted two of the journalist's sons, Salah and Sahel, at the Yamama Palace in Riyadh. A friend of the Khashoggis' has told The Associated Press that Salah is under a travel ban. The individual spoke to the A.P. on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.

The visit, which was filmed and photographed, came as Saudi Arabia sought to contain a firestorm of criticism over its handling of Khashoggi's disappearance after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

After vehemently denying any official involvement in the incident, the kingdom said on Friday that Khashoggi had died in a "rogue operation" during a fight in the consulate. This followed allegations by Turkish authorities who said they had audio recordings proving that Khashoggi had been killed and dismembered inside the building. Other regional diplomats have told NBC News that they believe his remains were removed from the consulate in boxes.

Khashoggi, a former regime insider who last year went into self-imposed exile, was a prominent critic of the crown prince and his crackdown on dissent.

Earlier, the Saudi cabinet promised to hold to account those who were responsible for Khashoggi's death and those who "failed in their duties" in a case that has strained ties between Riyadh and the West.

The absolute monarchy is a longtime U.S. ally and considered a bulwark against Iran, but the crisis over Khashoggi's death has helped crystallize growing unease about the 33-year-old crown prince, the country's de facto ruler.

Earlier Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said evidence showed Khashoggi's killing was "brutal" and "premeditated," contradicting Saudi Arabia's most recent version of events.

Erdogan’s address coincided with the opening of the Future Investment Initiative, a glittering gathering under the auspices of the crown prince that is aimed at showcasing oil-rich Saudi Arabia as a moderate high-tech mecca. In recent days, a slew of businesses leaders and media companies announced that they were pulling out of the Riyadh meeting, dubbed “Davos in the Desert.”

Bin Salman received a standing ovation when he made an unannounced stop at the conference, and appeared at an afternoon panel next to King Abdullah II of Jordan, but made no public remarks.

The A.P. also reported that Turkish officials said Erdogan called another of Khashoggi’s sons, Abdullah, to express his condolences on Tuesday, and also spoke with other members of his family.</s>RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would not penalize foreign banks boycotting an investment forum in a message of reassurance for a gathering overshadowed by a global outcry over slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The kingdom’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to speak later at the meeting of international investors in his most high profile remarks since the columnist, one of his most prominent critics, was killed in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

The world’s top oil exporter has come under increasing pressure over the killing of Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince, in a crisis that has strained its ties with the West.

President Donald Trump, in his strongest remarks yet, said Prince Mohammed bears ultimate responsibility as Saudi de facto ruler for the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death, explaining the prince is “running things” in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia first denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance after entering the consulate but a Saudi official eventually attributed the death to a chokehold. Turkey has dismissed Saudi efforts to blame rogue operatives and urged the kingdom to search “top to bottom” for those responsible.

Dozens of Western politicians, top world bankers and company executives boycotted this year’s Future Investment Initiative conference that opened in Riyadh on Tuesday, but the kingdom showed it could still do business by signing deals worth $50 billion on the first day.

The Saudi central bank chief said foreign banks abstaining from the event would not be penalized and may apply for licenses to operate in the Gulf state, the Middle East’s largest economy.

“We, at the central bank, deal in complete professional manner whether with local or international banks,” Ahmed al-Kholifey told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

The crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and architect of its reform drive, is scheduled to speak at the event in the late afternoon after making a brief appearance on the opening day, declaring the event as “great - more people more money”.

He wil be accompanied on the panel by the crown prince of Bahrain, which sent a 110-strong delegation to the event, according to a Bahraini delegate. The United Arab Emirates, another Gulf Arab ally, also made a big showing, led by UAE vice president and Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“They are circling the wagons, rallying the allies in order to weather the storm,” a Saudi businessman told Reuters.

Prince Mohammed, known as MbS, did not address the forum on Tuesday. He had arrived after attending a meeting at which his father and strongest supporter King Salman received members of Khashoggi’s family, including his son Salah. State news agency SPA published pictures of the meeting, including one of the crown prince shaking hands with Salah, who seemed ill at ease.

The prince told Bloomberg earlier this month that Riyadh would announce an “amazing deal” at FII this year, where the mood has been subdued compared to the 2017 inaugural event.

Despite the boycott by big hitters, including in Wall Street, of the investment conference, some senior international bankers including from HSBC and Japan’s biggest lender MUFG attended in a sign that global banks were reluctant to walk away from lucrative Saudi deals.

Lucid Motors chief technology officer Peter Rawlinson was also present and the U.S. company had a dedicated stand at the venue, placing a sleek gray car in a hallway at the opulent Ritz Carlton Hotel where the three-day event is being held.

In September Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund agreed to invest more than $1 billion in Lucid as part of Saudi efforts to diversify the oil-dependent economy.

Russia’s large delegation is led by Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev, who said on Tuesday that while Khashoggi’s killing needed to be investigated and the culprits punished, the Saudi economic and social reform drive could not be ignored.</s>Saudi Arabia's crown prince is scheduled to address an investment forum in Riyadh on Wednesday, his first public speech since the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi plunged the kingdom into crisis.

Organisers of the glitzy flagship Future Investment Initiative listed Prince Mohammed bin Salman among the "top speakers" for the second day of the three-day conference, after he made a brief appearance on Tuesday.

The crown prince is likely to appear on a panel alongside Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, whose resignation in a televised address from the Saudi capital in mysterious circumstances last year sparked rumours he was being held against his will.

The conference, nicknamed "Davos in the desert", has been overshadowed by the outcry over the murder of Khashoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2, with a array of big names pulling out over the case.

The reform credentials of Prince Mohammed, the king's powerful son, have been tarnished by the scandal despite repeated denials he had any involvement in the killing of the Washington Post contributor.

Saudi organisers of the conference have sought to portray it as business as usual, announcing 12 "mega deals" worth more than $50 billion in oil, gas, infrastructure and other sectors on the opening day of the forum.

Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih acknowledged, however, that the kingdom was in crisis following the "abhorrent" murder of Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia initially claimed Khashoggi left freely after visiting the consulate but, as international pressure mounted, the kingdom said he died inside the mission when an argument degenerated into a fistfight. It later acknowledged that he had in fact been murdered, as Turkish officials said all along.

The United States said Tuesday it was revoking the visas of Saudis implicated in the murder, as President Donald Trump ridiculed the kingdom's response as "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.

The move came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a keenly anticipated speech on Tuesday that Khashoggi's killing inside the consulate had been meticulously planned.</s>LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had added the Guards and Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani to their terrorism lists to distract the world from killing of a prominent Saudi journalist.

"Saudi Arabia is in a quagmire it cannot easily come out of ... Saudi rulers are trying to distract the world and the region from the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist, in their consulate in Turkey," Brigadier-General Esmail Kowsari, the Revolutionary Guards´ deputy security chief in Tehran was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.

Kowsari said: "Saudi leaders should be held accountable for their actions."</s>THE feud surrounding journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder is escalating, as the world demands to know the truth of what happened at the Saudi consulate.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pronounced the death a "savage murder", with Khashoggi killed and dismembered inside the consulate by Saudi agents on October 2. But Saudi authorities have refused to allow Turkish police to search a well in the garden of the consulate in Istanbul, according to Turkey's state-run Andalou agency.

Turkish sources alleged that body parts and a disfigured face had been found in the garden, Sky News reported, but the discovery has not been confirmed.

Riyadh called the killing a "huge and grave mistake", in which Khashoggi was accidentally strangled after he was placed in a chokehold during an interrogation gone wrong.

The Saudi authorities maintain that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew nothing about the murder, while Turkey claims it was a carefully planned assassination masterminded by the royal.

Mr Erdogan says that when diplomats in the consulate learnt Khashoggi would be coming in for a document, one flew back to Riyadh, where "a road map started to be established." A team of 15 Saudi agents then flew to Istanbul on October 2 with suitcases and a "bone saw", checking into hotels but flying out the same day.

Mr Erdogan also confirmed that a body double of Khashoggi was used as a decoy after he was killed, after CCTV footage emerged on Monday of a man wearing the Washington Post columnist's dress shirt, suit jacket and pants.

Saudi officials admitted they brought in a body double to pose as Khashoggi, but claimed it was part of a plan to kidnap rather than to kill him.

Turkish officials also reportedly have a recording of the alleged "ferocious" torture and killing, but Mr Erdogan has held back any further evidence so far. He has also refrained from naming the crown prince directly, although he referred to King Salman's "sincerity".

Prince Mohammed was defiant on Tuesday as he made a surprise appearance at a global investment conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. Many of the American and international businesses due to attend pulled out to avoid being associated with the regime amid the horror accusations.

The crown prince and Saudi King Salman earlier invited Khashoggi's son Salah and brother Sahel to the Yamama Palace in Riyadh to offer condolences. The journalist's son, who is banned from leaving Saudi Arabia, was pictured staring coldly at the crown prince as they shook hands.

Since Khashoggi's disappearance more than three weeks ago, Turkish and Saudi authorities have searched the consulate and consul general's residence in Istanbul, as well as a consulate car.

The crown prince, who has portrayed himself as a progressive reformer, is now coming under fire from leaders in the region and across the world.

Donald Trump was initially reserved on Khashoggi's death, calling the Saudis account "credible", but on Tuesday referred to it as "the worst cover-up ever". The US administration said it would revoke the visas of 21 Saudis suspected of killing the Virginia resident.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the "heinous murder" would have been unthinkable "without US backing,"

France will take "punitive measures" if Saudi Arabia is "proven" to be behind the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Wednesday.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that arms exports to Saudi Arabia "can't take place in the situation we're currently in," citing Khashoggi's death.

Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez said his government would fulfil past arms sales contracts with Saudi Arabia despite his "dismay" over the "terrible murder", saying protecting jobs in Spain was central to his decision last month to go ahead with a controversial bomb shipment to Saudi Arabia.

While the US is the biggest Saudi arms supplier, Europe has also been selling billions of dollars' worth of weapons to the kingdom for decades.</s>Hariri 'will be staying in kingdom for two more days, so I hope there are no rumours of his abduction,' Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

The prince burst out laughing and shook hands with a smiling Hariri, who sat next to him on stage, as the audience also erupted in laughter. (Photo: File)

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's crown prince on Wednesday joked about allegations that Lebanon's premier-designate Saad Hariri was detained in the kingdom last year, saying he hoped his current visit does not spark "abduction" rumours.

Hariri "will be staying in the kingdom for two more days, so I hope there are no rumours of his abduction," Prince Mohammed bin Salman said while addressing the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh.

The prince burst out laughing and shook hands with a smiling Hariri, who sat next to him on stage, as the audience also erupted in laughter.

Saudi Arabia has long been a key ally of Hariri, while Riyadh's regional foe Iran backs Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

But in November last year, Hariri announced he was stepping down in a televised address from the Saudi capital, causing observers to speculate he was being held against his will.

After French mediation, he rescinded his resignation the following month, and Saudi Arabia has denied intimidating Hariri into quitting his post.

Hariri was named premier for a third term in May after Lebanon's first parliamentary elections in nine years, but has since struggled to form a cabinet.

Hariri, a dual Saudi citizen, has thrown his support behind Prince Mohammed as he faces global outrage over the murder of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.</s>Authorities have reportedly gained permission to search a well in the garden of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul - where journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed.

Turkish broadcaster NTV said police had been given the green light after previous reports that the Saudis had refused.

The search is expected to take place later today.

Two sources on Tuesday told Sky News that "cut up" body parts had been found, with one saying they were discovered in the garden of the consul general's home.

Saudi Arabia has said Mr Khashoggi died in a "fist fight" at the consulate on 2 October despite Turkey's president saying it was a calculated murder plot.

It comes as Theresa May told the Commons on Wednesday that anyone suspected of being involved in the murder would not banned from the UK.

"The Home Secretary is taking action against all suspects to prevent them entering the UK. If these individuals currently have visas, those visas will be revoked today," said Mrs May.

She said there must be a "full and credible investigation" and that the claim Mr Khashoggi died in a fight "does not amount to a credible explanation".

Meanwhile, Iran's leader, Hassan Rouhani, has also entered the diplomatic row.

"I don't think that any country would dare do such a thing without US backing," he said in remarks broadcast on state television.

Donald Trump yesterday described the journalist's killing as one of the "worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups".

The American president said: "The execution was no good. And the cover-up, if you want to call it that, was certainly no good.

"Whoever thought of that idea I think is in big trouble - and they should be in big trouble."

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Mr Khashoggi was the victim of a "savage murder," and that he is "determined" that no one involved should escape - including those who ordered the killing.

Speaking in Ankara on Wednesday, he said: "We are determined not to allow a cover-up of this murder and to make sure all those responsible - from those who ordered it to those who carried it out - will not be allowed to avoid justice."

Turkish media has identified a "hit squad" of 15 people who it says helped torture, kill and dismember Mr Khashoggi, and Saudi authorities have arrested 18 people.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said America had identified "some" of those involved and the State Department later said 21 suspects would be declared ineligible to enter the US.

Mr Trump also said he had spoken to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who "strongly said that he had nothing to do with this".

He is due to be briefed about the suspected murder on Wednesday afternoon by US officials following the CIA chief's visit to Istanbul.

After this, Mr Trump said he would know "pretty much everything there is to know."</s>Minister of Foreign Affairs Anders Samuelsen is to summon the Saudi ambassador over the death of dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.

Samuelsen decided to call the meeting after Khashoggi was confirmed as having been killed during a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi disappeared during a visit to the Istanbul consulate on October 2nd. Riyadh initially denied anything had happened to him.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in an address to the parliament in Ankara on Tuesday, rejected the later Saudi explanation that Khashoggi died in a fight in the consulate.

Erdoğan said that Khashoggi’s “savage” murder was premeditated and called for an independent investigation in Turkey.

“After hearing Erdoğan’s speech, which concludes that it was planned, and there are still many unresolved questions, I think it is fair to give the Saudi ambassador the opportunity to explain, and we will get the chance to ask a few questions,” Samuelsen told Ritzau.

In accordance with protocol, a senior Danish official will meet the ambassador before reporting back to Samuelsen, the ministry confirmed.

The minister did not comment on whether Denmark was planning any further measures against the Saudis.

“It is far too early to make conclusions. There is evidence that international pressure, which Denmark is part of, is working,” he said.

“We have gone from a situation where Saudi Arabia completely denied what happened to their admission that he was killed,” the minister added.

On Sunday, German chancellor Angela Merkel announced that her country was freezing weapons exports to the Middle Eastern nation.

German finance minister Peter Altmaier subsequently stressed the need for a united EU position over the issue.

But Samuelsen said he would take three initial actions before any further steps.

“We are now sending a signal by not attending the investment conference, we are summoning the Saudi ambassador to a meeting and we are continuing international pressure,” he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Monday that neither the ministry nor the Danish embassy in Saudi Arabia would participate in the Future Investment conference in Riyadh this week.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will address an international audience for the first time since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.