US President Donald Trump will host Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman on March 20, the White House said Monday.
“The president looks forward to discussing ways to strengthen ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in announcing the meeting.
The meeting comes as the 32-year-old crown prince seeks to build a defence industry and has been looking beyond the kingdom’s traditional Western allies for help. Prince Mohammed is aiming to have half of Saudi military procurement done locally by 2030, from about 2 percent now.
The Saudi government is already planning to buy the Russian S-400 air-defence system, under a deal that would let them manufacture related products at home.