BICOM

Mohammed Bin Salman, the 32-year-old Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has arrived in the UK for a high profile three-day official visit.

Prince Mohammed’s visit will include an unprecedented series of high-level engagements for a visiting leader who is not a Head of State. He will have lunch with the Queen, dinner with the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge and hold meetings with Prime Minister Theresa May and her team at Downing Street and Chequers.

The Prime Minister and Crown Prince will also launch a “UK-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council” – a new initiative to support Saudi Arabia’s economic reforms and boost bilateral cooperation in defence, security, education and culture. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said yesterday that the visit “will usher in a new era of bilateral relations, focused on a partnership that delivers wide-ranging benefits for both of us”.

The British Government intends the visit to deepen the bilateral defence partnership and hopes to persuade the Saudis to launch part of Saudi Aramco’s IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Saudi Arabia and the UK may sign a number of agreements and business deals worth more than $100bn. These could include contracts with BAE Systems, European arms manufacturer MBDA and agreements for gas exploration, petrochemicals and other industries.

In a recent article in the Times newspaper, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he believes that “the Crown Prince, who is only 32, has demonstrated by word and deed that he aims to guide Saudi Arabia in a more open direction. The worst response would be for Britain to criticise from the sidelines or shun the kingdom altogether; instead, our role must be to encourage him along this path. Be in no doubt: the future of Saudi Arabia – and indeed the region and the wider Muslim world – depends on his success.”

Demonstrations are expected during the course of the visit, protesting Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and its involvement in the conflict in Yemen. Prime Minister Theresa May said she will talk “frankly and constructively” about what she calls “issues of concern including regional security and the conflict and humanitarian situation in Yemen”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed that the two leaders will discuss Yemen and said the Prime Minister will:  “raise deep concerns at the humanitarian situation… She will also reiterate how seriously we take allegations of violations against international humanitarian law.”