Saudi crown prince’s US visit to start on Monday

The White House has said that President Donald Trump will meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, when they are expected to discuss matters of common concern, including the Iran nuclear deal and the Qatar dispute.

In an official statement on Monday, which confirmed the exclusive run by The National on February 28, the US government said Mr Trump would welcome Prince Mohammed to the White House on March 20.

“The president looks forward to discussing ways to strengthen ties between the US and Saudi Arabia and to advance our common security and economic priorities,” the statement said.

Although the travel itinerary is not yet finalised, it appears Washington will be the first stop in a two-week visit by Prince Mohammed.

He will arrive on Monday next week and will hold three days of high-level meetings with senior defence, intelligence and State Department officials.

He will also meet members of Congress, business leaders and attend at least one event with policy analysts and thinkers in Washington.

The visit is Prince Mohammed’s second to Washington since Mr Trump assumed office but his first since being appointed crown prince in June last year. He also visited the White House twice when Barack Obama was president.

After Washington, the crown prince will visit major US cities, including include New York, Boston, Houston, San Francisco and Seattle, to discuss economic co-operation, investment and his Vision 2030.

He visited Silicon Valley in 2016 where he met social media barons and investors to pitch his economic transformation plan for Saudi Arabia.

This Sunday, CBS is expected to broadcast Prince Mohammed’s first interview with a US television station.

Journalist and host Norah O’Donnell flew to Riyadh last week to conduct the interview, which reportedly took two years to organise.

There is high anticipation in Washington for the crown prince’s visit. Early reports have indicated that the Trump government is planning a Camp David summit this spring if its efforts to resolve the Qatar dispute succeed.

But the US push appears to have stalled. On a visit to Egypt last week, Prince Mohammed reportedly likened the dispute with Qatar to the US’s decades-long embargo on Cuba, as one that “could last a long time”.

US Secretary of Defence James Mattis is visiting Oman and Bahrain this week.