Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will arrive to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, his second stop in a multi-national tour with a broad economic and diplomatic agenda.
The Crown Prince is due to meet Prime Minister Theresa May and other senior ministers, members of the royal family, as well as security officials and business people, according to reports.
According to Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, in comments in the London-based Financial Times, this leg of the trip was aimed at taking the Saudi-UK relationship to a “higher level” with both countries seeking co-operation in sectors such as education and technology as well as security. “Our relationship is so strong that the talks will be broad and wide ranging…There will be agreements and memorandums of understanding signed in a number of areas,” the Financial Times reports.
“We’re bullish about Britain” Al-Jubeir told Sky News.
“We’re bullish about Britain,” Saudi FM Al-Jubeir told Sky News.
Ahead of his visit, the Crown Prince gave an exclusive interview with the UK-based Telegraph to discuss the significance of Britain in Saudi Arabia’s modernization plans. The interview was given in English to reporter Con Coughlin, who noted that “in a sign of the heir apparent’s growing confidence, on this occasion he chose to answer my questions in English.”
“We believe that Saudi Arabia needs to be part of the global economy,” Prince Mohammed said. “People need to be able to move freely, and we need to apply the same standards as the rest of the world…After Brexit there will be huge opportunities for Britain as a result of Vision 2030.”
“People in Saudi Arabia have changed a lot because they travel to countries like Britain and see a different way of life,” Crown Prince Mohammed said.
