Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman lands in Washington, D.C. today with a tightly packed agenda planned for his 4-day visit in the nation’s capital.
The Deputy Crown Prince who is also Minister of Defense and head of the powerful Council on Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) will meet with U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, tonight at 6pm, then host an iftar dinner Monday evening for Secretary Kerry and other U.S. officials.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will spend 4 days and 3 nights in Washington before traveling to New York and California.
On Tuesday, he will see officials from the Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday, including CIA Chief John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in addition to representatives from the private sector, according to Asharq Alawsat.
The Deputy Crown Prince will meet on Wednesday with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who visited Riyadh last April, and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, in addition to Republican and Democratic leaders. He will also hold a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
The Deputy Crown Prince will meet with Ash Carter and other defense leaders this week.
On Thursday, the Deputy Crown Prince will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House. The Prince will also meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in Norfolk, VA. Following that meetings, the Deputy Crown Prince will meet with the President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Thomas Donohue and members of the chamber.
The Saudi Royal Court confirmed the trip in a statement. “Upon directions by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and in response to an invitation by the United States government, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, will leave on Monday to the United States on an official visit during which he will meet with a number of officials to discuss the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries, and discuss issues of mutual interest and regional issues,” the court said, as translated by Asharq Alawsat newspaper.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf and Commerce and Investment Minister Majed al-Qusaibi are part of the delegation accompanying Prince Mohammed, as well as officials from the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
