RIYADH: The visit of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the United States assumes greater significance as it will help promote broader regional cooperation and stronger bilateral relations. It will help attract American investors and contribute to the economic diversification as envisaged in Vision 2030.

This was stated on Wednesday by the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC), an organization that aims to build better ties between the two countries by promoting people to people communication, and through enriching content, and intercultural initiatives and events.

The agenda of the deputy crown prince’s visit can broadly be divided into political, strategic and economic, with Syria, Yemen and Iraq dominating the political agenda; sharing intelligence, combating terrorism, Daesh and Muslim countries’ coalition to fight against terrorism dominating the discourse on strategic issues; and Vision 2030 aiming economic diversification, privatization and attracting American investors to the Kingdom topping the economic agenda.

In an exclusive statement analyzing the visit, SAPRAC said, “The visit comes in the middle of a strain in the bilateral relationship, a chaotic war in Syria and Yemen, Iranian intervention and a prolonged slump in oil prices.”

SAPRAC, however, exuded confidence that the visit that includes talks with President Barack Obama on Thursday will pave the way to promote broader cooperation between the two traditional allies as despite some differences, Saudi officials are keen on cooperating with the current and upcoming US administration to put an end to the friction between the two countries, the committee noted.

Commenting on the visit, Thomas Mattair, executive director of the Middle East Policy Council, told SAPRAC that Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a driving force behind much of the Kingdom’s reform plans. The Kingdom’s assertive regional policies, its defense planning and its economic reforms assume importance with the offer of significant trade and investment opportunities for the American corporations.

He added that as the Kingdom and the United States have common interests in shaping the outcome of the regional conflicts, and the solid bilateral security partnership is mutually beneficial; it provides an opportunity for the US to further strengthen this very important decades old American-Saudi partnership.

Notably, this visit also comes at a pivotal moment for the Saudi economy as it is headed for its most significant transformation in its recent history, including sweeping financial reforms privatization and diversification.