Saudi Arabia: What Is Unusual About Crown Prince Tour
13 April 2018
By Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi
SO what the Crown Prince's tour is about?, ask curious observers. It is a
valid question indeed, since these are so unprecedented visits. Usually, a
leader carries a certain agenda, be it political, economic, security,
academic, or cultural, among other purposes. Mostly, a visit is made to one
city — usually the capital of the visiting nation. Meetings are typically
limited to counterparts, such as heads of state, prime ministers and
ministers. Deals signed are related to the status of the visitor and scope of
his/her position.
Here we have something totally exceptional in quality, variety and size. In
UK, for example, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia met with the Queen of
England, her Crown Prince, the prime minister, the defense minister, and a
host of other ministers and dignitaries including religious, parliamentarian,
academic, business and military leaders. Agreements were signed worth tens of
billion of pounds on a wide spectrum of fields.
In the United States, the story turns into a novel. Crown Prince Muhammad Bin
Salman starts with a full-board meeting with the president and his Cabinet.
Then meets with members of that Cabinet, on one-to-one and group basis. Former
President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry as well as
senior Congress and Senate leaders follow. Next comes a whole list of business
executives in a Saudi-American mega meeting. Lively joint cultural and
business events and exhibitions took place at the same time. Signed agreements
were so impressive, that any foreign leader would regard them as enough of a
trophy to return home with.
Not, MBS! For our high-achiever Crown Prince, this was just the start of a
long and tireless tour in the United States of America. In New York, he
visited the United Nation and Wall Street and met with various political,
business and media leaders.
In Boston, the Crown Prince visited the US academia, including Harvard and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to explore, discuss and sign many
cooperative projects. Off to Seattle, Washington, to visit Boeing and
Microsoft, and meet with legendary businessmen, like Bill Gates (Microsoft)
and Jeff Bezos (Amazon).
Later, he flies to Los Angles, California, to discuss cooperation with mega
studios and entertainment corporations. Silicon Valley software companies are
expected to be included in his list of future investors and business partners
during a visit to San Francisco, California.
In the oil industry capital, Houston, Texas, our Crown Prince was to meet with
oil companies to explore future opportunities and investments in the various
fields of energy research and production.
During his tour, MBS has met with the editors of the largest media outlets,
such as CBS, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times
and the Time Magazine. His honest and direct statements made headlines. The
media was used to get diplomatic answers from traditional politicians, but he
sounded refreshingly honest, strong and enlightening. They had the chance to
test and feel his charisma, energy and intelligence.
Those outlets have had their share of inaccurate reporting about Saudi Arabia
and the Crown Prince. It may be because of misunderstanding or a result of
misinformed/biased sources. Sitting face to face with him to ask all the hard
questions about the conflict in Yemen and Syria, the relations with Iranian
Axis of Evil, and his local agenda and administrative style gave gave them an
opportunity to get first-hand answers. It also gave him the opportunity to
explain away all doubts in his open and transparent style. Now, they know
better and should report better.
Those must have been tough days and sleepless nights for our enemies... and it
shows! Iran and company are raising their tone of attack, level of
misinformation and intensity of propaganda. Their PR companies and lobbyists
are working hard in Western capitals to defame the Prince and his nation and
counter every Saudi move. In the region, their media organs and Arab agents
are in full gear and at full speed. They cast doubts, throw accusations and
make jokes of every achievement.
Who cares! Our Vision 2030 is too large to allow us the luxury of distraction.
Our security is too vital to give the distractors an ear. And our Crown Prince
is too busy opening up future horizons with our best allies and partners to
even listen to cries of fears, anger and frustration.
The Saudi Express is taking on the world —the good part of it! It runs on
green fuel and renewable energy. Only dreamers, explorers and future investors
are welcome aboard. Stations on its routes are limited to great nations and
superpowers. Those who cannot follow, comprehend or even imagine its speed,
quality and higher purposes are not worth a ticket. The train goes on!
— Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be
reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi
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