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Mohammed bin Salman gestures during a press conference in Riyadh, on April 25, 2016
The U.K. is bending over backwards to welcome Saudi Arabia’s crown prince as he starts a three-day state visit aimed at deepening economic ties between the two countries.
Banners promoting Saudi-U.K. links have appeared in London, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS as he is known, arrived on Tuesday evening.
He is due to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday and dinner with Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge,William, in the evening.
He is also due to meet Prime Minister Theresa May and ministers, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, at the prime minister’s residence in Downing Street, Wednesday.
Meetings over the next three days are expected to focus on defense, security and economic ties, Downing Street said as it issued more details of the crown prince’s visit. There is said to be $100 billion worth of deals on the table, according to the Financial Times.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s schedule on Wednesday:
- 12:30 Queen Elizabeth II receives the crown prince at Buckingham Palace
- 15:45 Crown prince arrives in Downing Street
- 16:00 He meets Prime Minister Theresa May
- Prince of Wales (Charles) & Duke of Cambridge (William) host dinner at Clarence House
His visit is the first to the U.K. since he became crown prince in June 2017 (he is also defense minister) and since Saudi Arabia started its “major program of domestic reforms,” with the U.K. government hoping for deeper relations with the Middle Eastern superpower.
“Saudi Arabia is among the largest political, diplomatic and economic powers in the Middle East, and the visit will usher in a new era in our bilateral relations with one of our oldest friends in the region,” the U.K. government said in a press release Tuesday.
