I guess this conference has only taken place now because:
From Wikipedia:
"In and before February 2004, the official website of the Saudi Supreme Commission for Tourism stated that visas would be denied to "Jewish people". This language was removed after a complaint was lodged against the government by a US Government representative, who suggested that the US should not issue visas to Saudi nationals until the Saudi government reversed its decision to bar members of certain religious groups from entry. The Saudi government subsequently changed the language on their Web site. A Saudi government official was quoted as saying that the exclusion mentioned on the Web site was "a mistake", and stated that the kingdom would not deny visas to anyone on the basis of their religion. Israeli passport holders or holders of passports that have Israeli arrival/departure stamps are still barred." |
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