Barack Obama hosts powerful Saudi prince

US President Barack Obama today hosted Saudi Arabia’s powerful Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.

In Washington DC for almost a week, the 30-year-old Deputy Crown Prince, who is considered by many as the future leader of Saudi Arabia, met almost the entire top leadership of the Obama administration including Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Ashton Carter.

The White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said the visit serves to underscore the deep strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

“Mostly, it’s going to give us an opportunity to further discuss issues of mutual concern and cooperation, including the situations in Yemen and Syria, our campaign against ISIL, Saudi Arabia’s national transformation programme of reforming its economy—so all of the issues that were discussed at the GCC Summit in April,” he told reporters.

On Monday, Kerry hosted an Iftar for the visiting leader.

Prince Mohammed also met the leaders in the intelligence community.

The Saudi Ambassador to the United States Abdullah Al-Saud said the visit will have a significant impact on the development of the joint interests of the two countries.

He said that the timing of the visit was significant because it follows the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, an economic roadmap built around three primary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation.