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Top Israeli bank chairman to speak at Saudi investment event
October 25, 2022
Samer Haj Yehia, head of Bank Leumi, is due to speak on a panel alongside other top finance executives
The chairman of Israel’s Bank Leumi is set to speak at Saudi Arabia’s flagship investment conference in Riyadh on Thursday, in the latest sign of a potential thawing of relations between the two countries.
Relations between Israel and some Gulf Arab states have warmed in recent years as they share concerns over Iran’s influence in the region. In 2020, Saudi Arabia's allies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the historic U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords to normalize relations with the Jewish state.
Organizers of the Future Investment Initiative conference confirmed that Samer Haj Yehia, chairman of Bank Leumi – one of Israel’s two largest banks – would attend.
He is due to speak on a panel titled “transforming banking and investment for the resilient economy” alongside other top finance executives, including from Rothschild & Company, Societe Generale, and Wells Fargo.
Haj Yehia is the first Arab Israeli to serve as the bank’s chairman.
Top Wall Street executives, including JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs' David Solomon, and a host of others attended the event's first day on Tuesday.