Saudi Prince’s Under-the-Radar U.S. Visit Belies Big Plans
- U.S. lawmakers and investors being courted by Prince Salman
- Terrorism, not politics, has been on the agenda with lawmakers
John Kerry meets Mohammed bin Salman in Washington, DC on June 13.
Photographer: Molly Riley/AFP via Getty ImagesSaudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is making his solo Washington debut this week, pitching an economic plan to investors and trying to counter negative views among U.S. lawmakers that his country isn’t stopping terrorist financing. Just don’t expect to see much of him.
While Prince Mohammed, who is also the Saudi defense minister, has been whisked to meetings across Washington since Monday, all of them have been closed to the press. He broke the Ramadan fast with Secretary of State John Kerry, met intelligence and congressional leaders including House Speaker Paul Ryan and visited Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon, all without making any public comments.