The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Britain for a three day state visit starting on Wednesday during which he will meet the prime minister, government officials and the royal family.
Since becoming the nation’s de facto ruler a few years ago bin Salman has launched war on Yemen, imposed an economic siege on Qatar, and has launched a crackdown on his internal rivals.
However, Britain – which has been a key Saudi ally for decades – is portraying bin Salman as a visionary reformist.
It has also been confirmed that human rights campaigners will hold a demonstration next Wednesday as the designated successor to the Saudi throne jets into the UK.
They are calling on Theresa May to tackle the Crown Prince over his country’s human rights record, as well as to suspend UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid the kingdom’s military action in Yemen.
It has been calculated Britain has licensed £4.6bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since it began its intervention in neighbouring Yemen, which has seen the deaths of thousands of civilians.
A Saudi-led blockade has also been blamed for pushing Yemen to the brink of famine.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
The visit will be the Crown Prince’s first to the UK since he took on Saudi Arabia’s second-most senior role in June last year.
Writing in the Saudi Arab News newspaper Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended the visit.
He wrote: “There will be those who would object to engaging with a kingdom that is a powerhouse of the Middle East and, incidentally, one of Britain’s oldest friends in the region.
“If you have any sympathy with such views, then let me highlight a few salient facts.
In the eight months since Mohammed bin Salman became crown prince, Saudi Arabia has introduced exactly the kind of reforms that we have always advocated.
“The ban on women driving has been overturned. Gender segregation has been relaxed. The kingdom has adopted an official target for women to account for 30 per cent of the workforce: in February women were allowed to register their own businesses. Women now attend sporting events and from next month cinemas will open their doors to everyone…
“I will not minimise Britain’s differences with the kingdom. I want Saudi Arabia to do more to protect human rights. But we cannot deliver these messages or resolve our disagreements unless we meet the kingdom’s leaders.
“Nor can we uphold the British national interest. Remember that tens of thousands of British jobs depend on our exports to Saudi Arabia, which climbed to £6.2 billion in 2016, a 41 per cent rise since 2010. When it comes to keeping Britain safe, intelligence from Saudi Arabia has been crucial in the struggle against terrorism. The simple truth is that British lives have been saved and attacks prevented because of our security cooperation with Saudi Arabia.”
