Saudi Crown Prince visits the US for the first time since the Khashoggi scandal
Washington, November 18 (Hibya) – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is visiting the United States for the first time since the Khashoggi scandal.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The trip comes after Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May, during which the kingdom pledged trade and investment commitments worth 600 billion dollars to the United States.
Salman’s visit to the US is his first since Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Istanbul in 2018.
The trip follows Trump’s May visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the kingdom committed to 600 billion dollars in trade and investment with the US. Analysts say Trump will seek to reinforce these commitments this week.
Tim Callen, a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, said ahead of the meeting: “The US wants Saudi Arabia to buy more goods and services and to increase its investments in US companies. Saudi Arabia, for its part, is seeking greater access to US technology and innovation to support its ambitious Vision 2030 reforms.”
Callen noted that the US–Saudi Investment Forum, scheduled for November 19, will be an opportunity to sign further economic agreements between the two countries, adding that Saudi Arabia wants to build a reciprocal investment relationship with Washington.
“There is little doubt that Saudi Arabia’s investments and purchases of US products will increase,” Callen said. “However, given the improving investment climate in the kingdom, the opportunities created by Vision 2030, reliable and low-cost energy resources, and the availability of large tracts of land to support the expansion of artificial intelligence and related activities by US technology companies, it is possible that US investments in Saudi Arabia will record the strongest growth in the coming years.”
The US visit will be the first by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler since 2018, when Saudi agents killed journalist and prominent critic of the Saudi regime Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, has denied ordering the killing, but a US intelligence report concluded that the crown prince approved the operation.
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