Saudi Crown Prince MBS heads to US with defense, oil and Security high on agenda

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will visit the US on Tuesday as Washington and the Gulf country seek to strengthen cooperation on oil and security while broadening ties in commerce, technology and potentially even nuclear energy.

This will be MBS’s first visit to the US in 18 years, after the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul in 2018, which Washington concluded was approved by MBS.

The visit is largely a continuation of US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this year, where he made a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge. The Saudi leader is seeking security guarantees amid regional turmoil and wants access to artificial intelligence technology and progress toward a deal on a civilian nuclear programme.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump confirmed that he plans to approve the sale to Saudi Arabia of advanced US-made F-35 fighter jets that the kingdom has sought. “I will say that we will be doing that,” he said in response to a question.

Defence, AI, nuclear and more

There’s a lot on Washington’s and Riyadh’s plates during MBS’s trip to the US. Both countries have long had an arrangement for the kingdom to sell oil at favourable prices and for the superpower to provide security in exchange.

That equation was shaken by Washington’s failure to act when Iran struck oil installations in the kingdom in 2019. Concerns resurfaced in September, when Israel struck Doha, Qatar, in an attack it said targeted members of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In the aftermath, Trump signed a defence pact with Qatar via executive order. Many analysts, diplomats and regional officials believe the Saudis will get something similar.

Saudi has also been pushing for deals in nuclear energy and artificial intelligence as part of its ambitious Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy and strengthen its position relative to regional rivals.

MBS also wants to strike an agreement with Washington on developing a Saudi civilian nuclear programme, part of his effort to diversify from oil.

Such a deal would unlock access to US nuclear technology and security guarantees and help Saudi Arabia level up with the UAE, which has its own programme, and traditional foe Iran.

With inputs from Reuters