On his first visit to the United States since becoming crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to travel to Silicon Valley. The crown prince has shown an admiration for the entrepreneurship and innovative spirit in Silicon Valley, and visited the area in 2016, meeting with Saudi professionals. There are currently 125,000 Saudis, men and women, studying in the United States, 84,000 of whom are receiving scholarships from the Saudi government. With half of the national population under the age of 25, education is one of the most important pillars in Vision 2030, aimed at shifting Saudi Arabia from an oil-based to a knowledge-based economy.
تزامنت زيارة ولي عهد السعودية الأمير محمد بن سلمان إلى واشنطن مع تغييرات هامة في هيكل فريق السياسة الخارجية والأمنية للولايات المتحدة، تمثلت بإقالة مستشار الأمن القومي إتش آر ماكماستر، وتعيين جون بولتون المعروف بمواقفه المتصلبة ضد إيران وكوريا الشمالية بدلا منه. ومن المتوقع أن يكون لهذه التغييرات مضاعفات على علاقات وسياسات واشنطن تجاه السعودية والمنطقة ككل، تضاهي مضاعفات إقالة وزير الخارجية السابق ريكس تيلرسون وتعيين مايك بومبيو خلفا له
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It is not often that a Ritz-Carlton becomes a detention facility. But last November, when a large slice of the Saudi elite was arrested on accusations of corruption, the luxury hotel in Riyadh became a gilded prison for hundreds of princes, billionaires, and high-ranking government officials. Behind this crackdown was the young crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, who is attempting to remake the kingdom’s economy and social life, and even the House of Saud itself. F. Gregory Gause, III is a member of the board of directors of AGSIW.
With an extensive series of meetings in Washington, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz began a tour of the United States to build relations with the Americans that are central to the crown prince’s national, political and even personal strategy. His wide-ranging economic and social reform programme, centred on Vision 2030, is all about capacity building in a country that desperately lacks proficiency.
And then there was one “grown-up” left in the Trump White House. National security advisor HR McMaster was living on borrowed time for months. He never clicked with Donald Trump and openly disagreed with the sudden opening to North Korea and ongoing appeasement of Russia. Now he’s gone, to be replaced at the National Security Council by the ultimate Washington hardliner, John Bolton.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman arrived in Washington Monday for his first visit to the U.S. as presumptive heir to the throne. The trip comes at a crucial time in U.S.-Saudi relations, and a potential turning point in American policy toward the Middle East in general. But it is also telling that the visit won't be confined to Washington: MbS, as the prince is known, will also be visiting Boston, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston.
AGSIW hosted a roundtable discussion on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's U.S. visit with Jane Kinninmont, deputy head and senior research fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. Senior Resident Scholar Karen E. Young moderated the discussion.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Executive Vice President Stephen A. Seche discussed the implications of a U.S. Senate vote regarding continued military support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Speaking with The National, Seche also commented on U.S. involvement in negotiating an end to the conflict in Yemen.
Speaking with Bloomberg Radio and World Politics Review, Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish discussed the reasons for MbS' visit to the United States as well as the crown prince's reform agenda. Additionally, Young discussed the impact of the visit on U.S.-Saudi relations for the Middle East Institute's Middle East Focus podcast. She also spoke with Orient XXI on the implications of the Saudi reform agenda, and for AFP, commented on ongoing cultural shifts in the Saudi labor force. Speaking with Al Monitor, Young discussed the Gulf Arab states' reactions to the Trump administration's new tariffs on aluminum.
Speaking with Financial Times, Senior Resident Scholar Kristin Smith Diwan commented on the likelihood of the Gulf Arab states' cooperation with the United States in countering Iran's foreign policy agenda.
