Google Cloud CEO to shun Saudi business conference amid outcry over journalist's disappearance

SAN FRANCISCO - US internet giant Google Inc said Monday that its Cloud CEO Diane Greene will not attend an upcoming international business conference to be held in Saudi Arabia.

The high-profile Future Investment Initiative (FII) Summit, dubbed as "Davos in the Desert," is scheduled for Oct 23-25 in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia,

Greene is among the latest list of big-name executives in Silicon Valley that have announced staying away from the FII after Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for Washington Post, reportedly disappeared at a Saudi consulate in Turkey earlier this month.

"We can confirm Diane Greene will not be attending the FII Summit," a Google spokesperson said in a statement, without specifying whether the decision was linked to the Khashoggi incident.

Turkey media said Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, vanished soon after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct 2 and was said to have been killed there.

The Saudi government has denied any role in the alleged killing of the Washington Post columnist.

Over the past week, many corporate leaders and executives have announced their decision to shun the Saudi tech summit that was meant to bring together top tech and business leaders from all over the world.

Among them were Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, former AOL CEO and venture capitalist Steve Case, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Ford Chairman Bill Ford, and Google Android creator Andy Rubin. They have canceled their plans for attending the event in Saudi Arabia last week.

The business summit is being hosted by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has invested in some Silicon Valley tech firms such as Uber and other startups.