Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman invited to meet UK PM Sunak in London: report

The UK has invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for an official visit in late autumn, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The visit would be the first by the prince - who is known as MBS for short - to London since he was accused of ordering the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Downing Street has not confirmed the invitation, with a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak quoted by the Guardian as saying:

“We wouldn’t get into invites for foreign leaders,” adding that such a visit would be “set out in the normal way”.

Addressing the Khashoggi murder, the spokesperson continued:

“We’ve been clear the murder was a terrible crime and the Saudis should ensure it never happens again”.

Reports of the planned visit follows recent meetings between bin Salman and Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Since the Khashoggi killing, British and Saudi ministers have travelled between London and Riyadh.

Prince Mohammed is currently lobbying for his country's candidacy to host Expo 2030, which holds great significance for the kingdom as it coincides with the target year for Vision 2030, MbS's ambitious economic diversification plan.

The bid has faced opposition from human rights groups due to Riyadh's poor record.

Meanwhile, Western states are seeking to persuade Saudi Arabia and other countries to take sides in the Ukraine conflict.

Saudi Arabia's stance of neutrality in the Ukraine conflict has drawn criticism from those who view it as a de facto pro-Russian position, given the kingdom's oil production and its decision to cut output at an OPEC+ summit, which was perceived as a deliberate snub to the US and Europe.