BlackRock Inc. chief executive officer Larry Fink said his decision to withdraw from the upcoming conference in Saudi Arabia doesn’t mean his company will stop doing business with the country.

"This does not mean we are withdrawing from the Kingdom," Fink said in an interview on CNBC Tuesday.

He added that he had wanted to see the conference delayed until there was an investigation into the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, in Turkey earlier this month. He was last seen entering the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

"I had only one choice and that was to withdraw from the conference," said Fink, who heard from many BlackRock clients and employees about the situation.