Deputy crown prince's US visit: KSA means business

WASHINGTON: Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Washington on Monday.
He met Saudi students who are studying in the US at their own expense and announced that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has ordered that 2,628 Saudi students who have achieved high scores to be brought under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program.
The announcement was warmly welcomed  by the Saudi student community in the US.
He is expected to hold talks with President Barack Obama on Thursday.
He is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry, and on Tuesday with CIA Chief John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, as well as representatives from the private sector.
On Wednesday, he will meet several Congressional leaders, US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. The agenda also includes a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and with the President of the US Chamber of Commerce Thomas Donohue.
He will then head to New York to meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, followed by a trip to California for talks with chief executives of major companies in Silicon Valley, the report stated.
Meanwhile, a press report said on Monday that the deputy crown prince had 12 meetings and phone calls with US officials over the past six months in preparation for his visit to the US — from Dec. 7 to April 21.
The discussions focused on joint cooperation in all fields, especially military cooperation and to localize military production and industry in the Kingdom. There were also talks held on terrorism and finding solutions to the Yemeni, Syrian and Iraqi crises.
Officials also focused on seeking a joint solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in line with international resolutions and the establishment of an independent state for the Palestinians with Jerusalem as its capital.
Five of the phone calls were with the secretary of state and three with the defense secretary, while other calls were with the US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Affairs Richard Stengel, leader of the US Central Command Gen. Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, chair of the US congressional delegation.
George Alm, a political and diplomacy analyst, said: “Communication is ongoing between the two countries, despite differences on many issues. The visit is to resolve several issues in the Middle East, especially those related to Syria, Yemen, Iraq and terrorism in general.”
He said strategic relations rely on maintaining the interests of both sides, be it Saudi Arabia’s regional role or the US’ concerns in the Middle East. Iranian intervention in regional affairs remains a point of contestation between the Kingdom and the US, he said.
Sami Nader, a professor of political science, said the visit would have significant ramifications for the local and global economy. It would reinforce the basic pillars of the alliance and seek to end American silence on Iran’s continued intervention in regional and Arab countries, he was quoted as saying.