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New Delhi: The much-awaited visit of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to the US is to take place on Tuesday. Popularly known as MBS, this would be the crown prince’s first visit to the White House since 2018, when the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi resulted in global outrage. The Crown Prince’s trip is being seen as highly symbolic, reclaiming his place on the international stage and continuing his good relations with US President Donald Trump.
It would be an understatement to say that Mohammed bin Salman is changing the political and cultural life of Saudi Arabia. From the kingdom’s tribal days to that as a giant oil producing superpower, it has been MBS who is currently taking the kingdom to the next chapter of its development.
From the start, he framed his mission in bold terms. “Seventy percent of Saudis are under 30. We will not waste the next 30 years dealing with extremist ideas. We will destroy them today,” he declared in 2017 after becoming crown prince.
The crown prince has made good on his promise, with taking several progressive strides like diluting the power of the religious police and clerics, and giving more public freedom to women of the country, allowing them to drive for example. The freedoms though have come at a cost, with any opposition to the crown prince being non-existence in the kingdom and harshly dealt with.
MBS and Donald Trump have had a good relationship since Trump’s first Presidential term, both having spoken positively of each other. The current trip from the crown prince is expected to see many old commitments finalised and new ones coming up.
Trump for example is reportedly seeking to cash in on a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge made during Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May. On the other hand, MBS would look to seek security guarantees amid regional turmoil. It is reported that the crown prince is also looking to access artificial intelligence technology and progress toward a deal on a civilian nuclear programme for Saudi Arabia.
The plans for AI and nuclear energy are part of the country’s Vision 2030 plan which aims to diversify the country’s economy and strengthen its regional power. In aid of this it looks to secure advanced computer chips and other technologies that would keep it at the forward edge of the global AI competition. The Arab kingdom is also looking to strike an agreement with the US on developing a Saudi civilian nuclear programme as it looks to diversify its energy sector from oil.
From Trump there seems to be another major present of goodwill to the crown prince. Trump has said that he plans to greenlight the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. He made the announcement on Monday at the White House, saying, “We’ll be selling F-35s,” he told reporters. “Yeah, I am planning on doing it. They want to buy them. They’ve been a great ally,” Trump said. This marks a major shift in US policy of selling advanced weapons in the Middle East.
