RIYADH — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been on a long hiatus from the world stage, but as he prepares to celebrate five years as de facto leader, he is finally coming out of the cold.
US President Joe Biden‘s visit next month will complete the international rehabilitation of the 36-year-old prince, widely reviled for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Biden’s trip – after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove up oil prices and caused economic hardship – follows visits from French, British and Turkish leaders.
It marks an unqualified victory for Prince Mohammed, who has taken his country on a rollercoaster ride since he was named heir to his father, King Salman, 86, on June 21, 2017.
In his tenure as the unofficial ruler of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and home to Islam’s two holiest sites, “MBS” liberalized many aspects of daily life while exercising tight control over others.
But his quest to transform the conservative kingdom risked being completely overshadowed by the killing of Khashoggi, an act so heinous that Biden’s trip – a routine move for former US leaders – sparked controversy.
Saudi agents killed and dismembered insider-turned-critic Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
US intelligence has concluded that Prince Mohammed “authorized” an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, a charge he denies.
After visits by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the planned meeting with Biden is a major endorsement from Prince Mohammed.
- Editor/ additional report by AFP
“Washington has been something of a center of opposition to MBS when it comes to official public statements and mobilizations in the West,” said Yasmine Farouk of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“That’s exactly what MBS has been trying to achieve for the past year and a half: a face-to-face meeting and photo with Biden,” said a Riyadh-based diplomat.
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