PepsiCo, the global food and beverage company, and its partner, African Bottling Operations, have made a contribution of $250,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help provide critical assistance to thousands of Libyans who face food insecurity.
“With so many people in desperate need in Libya and around the world, we feel that it is our responsibility to provide whatever support we can to help alleviate their situation,” said Omar Farid, president of PepsiCo Middle East and Africa.
He added: “PepsiCo is focused on delivering sustainable long-term growth while leaving a positive imprint on society and the environment — inclusive of supporting WFP’s disaster relief in the Middle East region, this is what we call Performance with Purpose. PepsiCo has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme for almost a decade, as a core component of our commitment to the local community. There is considerable work that can be done to provide more support to those who need it, and we encourage our peers in the corporate world to extend their goodwill toward noble causes.”
Wagdi Othman, WFP Libya country director, said: “Over one million people in Libya are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. With food insecurity on the rise, people often have to resort to cutting meals, taking their children out of school or cutting health care expenses. This timely contribution from PepsiCo and its partner, African Bottling Operations, is a vital step in easing the worsening food shortages affecting many vulnerable families.”
WFP will use this humanitarian donation from PepsiCo and African Bottling Operations to deliver food rations to more than 17,000 people in Libya. Each ration provides a family of five people with a month’s supply of rice, pasta, wheat flour, chickpeas, vegetable oil, sugar and tomato paste.
In 2017, WFP aims to assist 175,000 Libyans affected by food insecurity. Priority is given to the most vulnerable families, especially internally displaced people, returnees and refugees, as well as households headed by unemployed women.
The humanitarian situation in Libya continues to deteriorate as a result of instability and disruption of markets and local food production, all of which negatively affect families’ livelihoods and their ability to meet basic needs, including food.
PepsiCo helps Libyans through UN’s World Food Programme
PepsiCo helps Libyans through UN’s World Food Programme
RLC Global Forum places Kingdom at center of future of retail
The RLC Global Forum will return to the Saudi capital on Feb. 3–4 to shape the future of retail and consumer-facing industries at a defining moment for growth against a backdrop of shifting cross-border commerce, evolving consumption patterns, and the global AI imperative.
As the world’s economic and cultural gravity continues to shift, Riyadh stands at the intersection of transformation by connecting East and West, tradition and innovation, and providing the ideal stage for this global dialogue.
The forum’s launch coincides with the announcement of two strategic partnerships with Cenomi Centers and Panda Retail Company, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a driving force in the global growth narrative.
Speaking to Arab News ahead of the annual forum, Panos Linardos, chairman of RLC Global Forum, said the event enables decision-makers to create a sustainable growth and innovation strategy in retail by monitoring major transformative forces affecting worldwide leaders.
“At the 2026 RLC Global Forum, the priority is not identifying trends — in fact most leaders already see the signals — but understanding how those forces collide and reshape decision-making. This year’s agenda reflects a world at a growth crossroads: capital is more disciplined, consumers are more selective, and traditional operating models are under strain,” said Linardos.
“This year we are focused on three interconnected questions. First, where does enduring growth come from when scale alone no longer guarantees resilience? Second, how are power and value shifting across the retail ecosystem? And third, how do markets like Saudi Arabia move from rapid expansion to sustainable, system-level value creation?” said the chairman.
“We believe that retail does not operate in isolation. That is why the forum is structured to examine these dynamics across retail, real estate, technology, and investment as a single interdependent system. This integrated view, rather than siloed thinking, is where meaningful strategy now takes shape,” he added.
The forum will convene more than 2,000 senior decision-makers in Riyadh, with participants spanning global retail groups, sovereign-linked investors, developers, technology platforms, policymakers, and academic institutions from more than 40 countries.
“What matters most, however, is not scale but composition. You must understand that this is an invitation-only audience shaped deliberately around decision-making authority. CEOs sit alongside ministers, investors alongside operators, and academics alongside practitioners, not to offer commentary, but to interrogate assumptions and test strategies against real-world constraints,” said Linardos.
What distinguishes the forum is its ability to bring global perspectives into direct conversation with regional realities.
“As Saudi Arabia’s role in global trade, tourism, and consumer markets accelerates, that intersection has become increasingly relevant for leaders reassessing how and where growth is built,” he said.
Reports indicate that retail sales in the Kingdom are forecast to reach $161.4 billion by 2028. “The scale of the opportunity is clear, but the more interesting question is how that growth is shaped,” Linardos told Arab News. “Demographics, digital adoption, tourism growth, and large-scale urban development are converging at once. That creates opportunity, but also raises the bar. The next phase of retail growth in the Kingdom will favor models that integrate physical space, digital infrastructure, cultural relevance, and operational discipline.”
At the 2026 RLC Global Forum, many of the discussions center on this transition, he said.
The Kingdom’s advantage lies in its ability to design ecosystems where retail, hospitality, culture, and experience reinforce one another. Creating this long-term, integrated value is a core focus of the discussions at the forum, he added.
Commenting on the forum’s role in the future of the Saudi retail landscape, Linardos said: “Saudi Arabia does not need another conference to showcase ambition. What it benefits from — and increasingly demands — is a platform for informed, global dialogue grounded in execution. The RLC Global Forum plays that role by positioning Saudi Arabia not as a case study, but as a strategic participant in shaping the future of retail and consumer economies.”
“By bringing global leaders into Riyadh, the forum allows for an exchange that is both outward-looking and locally anchored. As the Kingdom moves from rapid transformation to long-term institution building, these conversations become more consequential. The forum is thus a critical catalyst in translating Vision 2030’s ambitions into a resilient, global-market reality,” he added.
The RLC Global Forum is a leading platform that brings together the world’s most influential retail leaders, innovators, and policymakers to drive positive industry change. It marks the next phase of the Retail Leaders Circle’s 12-year mission to connect and empower decision-makers across the retail and consumer-facing sectors.
Through high-level dialogue and strategic cross-industry initiatives, the forum addresses the long-term forces defining the trajectory of retail and its interconnected ecosystems.
Alongside the annual retail forum in Riyadh, the RLC Global Forum curates a calendar of high-profile events around the world, including the CEO Summit in New York and the RLC Fashion Summit in Milan.
