Mohammad bin Salman to visit Macron in France 'soon'

Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is set to visit President Macron in France in the next two months, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a French TV channel.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

06 January, 2018

French president Macron and Mohammad bin Salman first met in Riyadh in November [Anadolu]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is to meet President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in the next two months, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told French TV.

The influential heir, known as MbS, will meet the French leader at the end of February or early March, Jubeir told CNEWS, saying: "He received an invitation from President Emmanuel Macron. We're thinking about an end February-early March date."

He said the exact date would be decided upon in the coming weeks.

The two first met face-to-face in Riyadh in November during Macron's trip to the Middle East.

The 32-year-old prince has spearheaded a so-called anti-corruption drive in Saudi Arabia in which dozens of high-profile ministers, businessmen and royals were detained on accusations including money laundering.

Prince Mohammed is also leading major economic and social reforms to reduce the Gulf kingdom's reliance on petrodollars.

Also on Friday, reports emerged that US President Donald Trump took credit for the shake up on the line of succession that hit Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2017, according to a tell-all book by author Michael Wolff.

Trump alleged he installed MbS as Saudi Arabia's crown prince, according to Wolff's publication Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, which is based on interviews with Trump's senior aides.

"We've put our man on top," Trump is said to have claimed to friends.

The shake-up in June saw Saudi Arabia's King Salman shelve decades of custom within the royal family, by naming his son Mohammad bin Salman as crown prince, ousting his nephew Mohammad bin Nayef.

When the announcement came, Trump congratulated bin Salman on his "recent elevation".

Just a month earlier, the US president visited the kingdom in his first overseas trip, signing a multi-billion dollar arms deal with Saudi leaders.