RIYADH: Saudi Arabia´s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues in France next week his first world tour as heir to the throne of his powerful and oil-rich kingdom.
The 32-year-old de facto Saudi leader, named crown prince last year, is doing the rounds of world capitals as he ushers in sweeping reforms to liberalise his kingdom and moves to stamp its regional supremacy.
Here is a recap of his trips so far:
The prince started out on March 4 in Cairo where he was welcomed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the international airport, a red carpet rolled out at the foot of his plane.
The following day the two countries agreed on a joint $10-billion fund to develop the Egyptian side of a $500-billion futurist mega-city that is planned to straddle Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Called NEOM, which means “new future” in a combination of English and Arabic abbreviations, it will be a biotech and digital hub spread over 26,500 square kilometres.
On March 7, Britain rolled out its own red carpet for the crown prince but his three-day visit was controversial, drawing protests over Saudi Arabia´s role at the head of a military coalition operating in Yemen.
Prince Mohammed lunched with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and held talks with Prime Minister Theresa May on the kingdom´s reforms, trade and investment relations, and defence and security cooperation.
On the third day of the prince´s trip, military equipment-maker BAE Systems had said Britain signed a multi-billion-pound preliminary order from Saudi Arabia for 48 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.
On March 20, US President Donald Trump gave the prince an effusive welcome at the White House, hailing a “great friendship”.
“The relationship is probably the strongest it´s ever been — we understand each other,” said Trump as the young leader embarked on a nearly three-week tour of the United States.
“Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy nation and they are going to give the United States some of that wealth hopefully, in the form of jobs, in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world,” Trump said.
The same day the US Senate rejected a resolution aimed at ending US military assistance to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
On March 23, the United States formally approved defence contracts totalling more than $1 billion with Saudi Arabia.
On April 2, in an interview published in US news magazine The Atlantic, Prince Mohammed said that Israelis, as well as Palestinians, “have the right to have their own land”.
The remark suggested increasing rapprochement with Israel, with whom Saudi Arabia has no formal diplomatic relations but is firmly allied with the United States.