Profile: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia will pay his first state visit to Pakistan on February 17 since becoming the heir to the throne. 

The purpose of the Crown Prince’s two-day visit is to wrap up a series of multi billion-dollar deals with Pakistan in various sectors.

Here is what you need to know about the Saudi prince.

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, is the most prominent member of the Saudi Royal Family and future King of the country.

Early life and education

Prince Mohammed was born to King Salman and Fahdabint Falah, the King’s third spouse, in 1985. The Prince is a direct descendant of the Sudairi tribe, which heavily influences and shapes the current political landscape of the Kingdom. The Prince has a bachelor’s degree in law from King Saud University.

Prince Mohammed’s career

Prince Mohammed’s rise to one of the most important positions in the Kingdom has been hasty. He occupied several key posts in the Kingdom in a relatively short time. When his father, at the time Crown Prince, became Defence Minister, Prince Mohammed moved with him and acted as his “Private and Special Advisor”, in what would be a preview of his later role.

Prince Mohammed was appointed President of the Crown Prince’s Court with the rank of minister by his father in 2013. He took over from Saud bin Nayef, who became Governor of Eastern Province on April 25, 2014. The Prince was also made State Minister at this time.

Prince Mohammed became Minister of Defenceand Secretary General of the Royal Court at the age of 30when his father became the new King of Saudi Arabia on January 23, 2015. The Prince was also assigned the role of Chief of Royal Protocol and Special Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the same date.

The Prince was named chair of the newly-established Council for Economic and Development Affairs four days after his appointment as Defence Minister, on January 29, 2015. The newly created Council for Economic and Development Affairs replaced the disbanded Supreme Economic Commission.In addition, Prince Mohammed’s previous duty as Minister of State continued to run concurrently with the new appointments.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s position in the military played a pivotal role for Saudi Arabia to seal arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars annually with foreign powers.These deals have so far involved his trips to Russia and the United States, where he took part in Obama’s Camp David summit with other GCC leaders.

The Kingdom’s already heavy expenditure on defence is set to increase under Prince Mohammed in the near future, because of new contracts he has negotiated with France, the US, and the UK.

Appointment as Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman was appointed Crown Prince on June 21, 2017, following his father’s decision to remove Mohammed bin Nayef from the position and make the Prince heir to the throne. The change of succession had been predicted by many experts on the royal family after Mohammed, then Deputy Crown Prince, showed great leadership as head of the Saudi military.

Vision 2030

Saudi Vision 2030, a brainchild of the Crown Prince, is a plan to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy and develop public-service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism. Goals include reinforcing economic and investment activities, increasing non-oil industry trade between countries through goods and consumer products, and increasing government spending on military manufacturing equipment and ammunition.

The first details were announced on April 25, 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Council of Ministers has tasked the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) with identifying and monitoring the mechanisms and measures crucial for the implementation of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

In its aim to grant the Kingdom a leading position in all fields, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 sought to identify the general directions, policies, goals and objectives of the Kingdom.

In its two-year review of Saudi Vision 2030, issued in May 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that Saudi Arabia was making “good progress” in implementing reforms that were likely to spur economic growth.

The basic aim of Vision 2030 – to lower Saudi Arabia’s dependency on oil by creating new revenue streams – was fostered by the oil-price collapse of 2014-15, which forced the government to declare a budget deficit in 2016. For many years the Saudi economy had been dependent on, and sustained by, oil. Oil income accounted for some 90% of export earnings and 87% of budget revenues. This clearly left the Kingdom highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the price of oil.

Initiatives for women

As part of his progressive plan and vision for the future of Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince puts women at the forefront of change and has openly spoken about women’s rights.

In February 2017, the Saudi stock exchange named Sarah Al Suhaimias its chairperson, making her the first woman to occupy the position in the exchange’s history.

In October 2017, the country’s General Sports Authority announced that women would be allowed into sports stadiums for the first time. Three previously male-only arenas were soon opened for women as well, starting in early 2018.

On September 26, 2017, Saudi Arabia announced that women would soon be allowed to drive, causing a flurry of driving courses for women to prepare for June 2018, when they would no longer need permission from their male guardian to get a driving licence or need their guardian in the car when driving.

Earlier this year, the young leader toured the United States and offered up an extensive insight in interviews with CBS, Bloomberg and other international platforms into what he had in mind for the future of women in the Kingdom.

“I just want to remind the world that American women had to wait long to get their right to vote,” he told Bloomberg News. “So we need time. We have taken many steps. In King Salman’s time, women were able to vote for the first time and 20 women won in these elections. Women can now work in any sector. In business and commerce, as a lawyer, in the political field and in all sectors.”

The significance of Pakistan visit 

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will sign several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in manyfields ranging from sports and youth development to energy and tourism.

This week, Foreign Office spokesman Dr. Muhammad Faisal said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would sign an agreement in field of youth and sports during the Crown Prince’s maiden visit.

An MoU on combating organised crime will also be inked between the two countries, as per the spokesman.

In a series of tweets, Dr. Faisal also informed about the formation and launch of Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC) during the visit of Prince Mohammed.

The SPSCC will be led by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Imran Khan. “The SCC will help the two countries for effective coordination and follow up to achieve mutually agreed objectives,” the spokesman said.

Sources privy to the matter have said the Crown Prince would also address the Pakistani nation during his visit, when one of the biggest investment packages in the history of Pakistan would be announced.

“Agreements of an investment worth $14 billion on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government will be inked during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” sources were quoted saying.