Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince is taking a landmark US tour, meeting with with stars from Elon Musk and Bill Gates to Oprah by Ben Brimelow on Mar 29, 2018, 5:01 PM Advertisement
 Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is currently on a multi-week tour across the US, meeting with heavy hitters in government, business, and the media. Starting with President Donald Trump, MbS, as he is known, has since gone on to meet other important politicians in Washington, including influential members of Congress and a number of Trump Cabinet officials. But the crown prince isn't just meeting with politicians. The Independent reported that a leaked copy of his itinerary revealed meetings with journalists, media moguls, academics, and some of the biggest players in the world's economy. Here are some of the biggest names MbS is meeting during his charm offensive: SEE ALSO: Trump showed off Saudi Arabia's massive US military buys in giant charts — here's everything that's on them Donald Trump  Trump has now met with MbS multiple times, both in the US and Saudi Arabia. He has emerged as a strong supporter of the young crown prince, as well as his father, King Salman. The president brought several charts with him when he met with MbS at the White House that showed the type of weapons, vehicles, and equipment being bought by Saudi Arabia. The deals are worth tens of billions of dollars.
Oprah Winfrey  Nader Hashemi, the director of the Centre for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver's Josef Kor bel School of International Studies, told The Independent that MbS' meeting with Oprah may help create a better PR image for Saudi Arabia. "Saudi Arabia has always had a public image problem in the West because of the obvious things like women’s rights and beheadings," Hashemi said. "When you meet with Oprah, even if you're not going to be interviewed, you're seeking the approval of an opinion maker. You're going into people's homes and reaching deep into American culture."
Jim Mattis  Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis was known for being a hawk toward Iran when he served as a general in the Marine Corps. Though he has argued in favor of keeping the Iran deal intact, he is still wary of Saudi Arabia's Middle East rival. MbS also serves as Saudi Arabia's Minister of Defense, and has made confronting Iran a top priority for Saudi Arabia. A meeting with his US counterpart is a no-brainer.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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