By Avishek Deb
Saudi Arabias crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman met with US President Donald Trump in Washington DC last Tuesday before commencing his three weeks long US tour.
The prince’s itinerary
He is expected to meet key White House officials with whom he had built a good rapport since Trump took office during his one week stay in the US capital. After that, he will be heading to New York where he is scheduled to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has disapproved Saudis participation in the three years long civil war in Yemen on more than one occasion. He will also supervise the partial divestment of Saudi Aramco, the worlds largest oil and gas company based in Saudi Arabia, which is at the heart of the princes Vision 2030 plan for social and economic reform. The IPO is set to become the worlds largest share offering by potentially raising $100 billion against a valuation of $2 trillion. However, it seems now that New York, along with London and Hong Kong, might lose out on cashing in this golden opportunity as Saudi officials are supposedly planning to list the shares in the Saudi Exchange until a more lucrative deal manifests from an international stock exchange. Subsequently, he will visit the West Coast to meet the CEOs of tech giants such as Google, Apple and Amazon. He is also expected to seal huge defence contracts by visiting arms exporter Lockheed Martin.
Attempts to reaffirm Saudi’s role
The 32 years old Princes sojourns to US centres of finance, technology, and entertainment are ostensibly a part of his campaign to allay doubts over his leadership qualities and reaffirm Saudis role as one of the principal allies of the US. The crown prince assumed power in June last year after overthrowing his cousin. He is the mastermind behind Saudi Vision 2030 which seeks to diversify the countrys economy by reducing its dependency on oil and developing vital public sectors to increase jobs. So far Saudi Arabias macroeconomic situation has only worsened with plummeting oil prices and rising unemployment. He has been courting companies based in the UK for the same reason earlier this month during his three-day visit to the UK. He is a controversial figure at home.
In November, Prince Salman cracked down on corruption by arresting hundreds of people in the top echelons of both the private and public sector, including elite businessmen and members of the royal family. Over a dozen of the detainees were hospitalised while one man died in police custody after they were allegedly coerced into pleading guilty and turning over their assets to the state. This move scared off foreign investors resulting in the dearth of investments necessary to catapult his Vision 2030 to success.
A questionable public image
He is also seen responsible for aggravating a humanitarian crisis in war-torn Yemen in which thousands of children died due to malnutrition and severe cholera outbreaks. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and is the latest victim of a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi-backed forces sought to assist their ally, Mr Abdu Hadi, former President of Yemen, who was ousted from his Presidency in 2014 by Shiite forces pledging allegiance to Iran. Saudi Arabia, in an effort to push back rebel groups like the Houthis, began bombing indiscriminately on rebel strongholds as well as civilian population, claiming more than 10,000 lives. Despite this, Riyadh continues to receive billions of dollars worth of advanced military equipment from the US with little oversight.
He was also urged by the US establishment to settle his reckless feud with Qatar by rolling back the trade blockade he imposed. Both Saudi Arabia as well as Qatar are vital allies of the US in the Middle East and instrumental in warding off Iranian influence. The US cannot afford a rivalry between its allies, especially at a time when Irans influence is growing bigger.
He even compared Irans Supreme Leader to Hitler and suggested that Saudi should get a nuclear bomb promptly in case Iran develops a bomb. Such blind anti-Iran rhetoric does not bode well for Prince Salman if he wants to be seen as a serious broker of peace and stability in the Middle East.
Attempts to sell a reformist agenda
All of the above factors call into question his ability to lead his country and remain USs all-weather ally when he finally ascends to the throne shortly. Even though he has projected himself as a reformist by denouncing the puritanical view of Islam previously followed in Saudi Arabia, and allowing women to drive as well as opening film theatres for recreation purposes, he is also known for leading a lavish lifestyle. He arrogantly proclaimed in an interview that he was no Gandhi or Mandela, which served to reduce his credibility as a reformer.
Prince Salman needs to sell his Vision 2030 hard to foreign investors and convince them that Saudi Arabias rule of law provides a friendly atmosphere to conduct business despite recent setbacks. He must amend his approach to the Yemen civil war as the US is under increasing pressure from the public to withdraw intelligence sharing with the Saudis and stop refuelling jets critical to fighting the rebels. Saudi Arabia will soon be on its own, and a future humanitarian crisis will be on its hand if it does not stop perpetuating wars.