Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August/September 2016, pp. 47-48
Special Report
Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Delegation: Full of Confidence and Hope
By Delinda C. Hanley
SAUDI ARABIA’S DEPUTY Crown Prince/Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman visited Washington, DC, the Silicon Valley and New York in June, accompanied by a high-level delegation. The 30-year-old prince is the son of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and third in line for the throne after his cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. The purpose of Mohammed bin Salman’s official U.S. visit was to hold talks and explore investment opportunities, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, the Kingdom’s former ambassador to the U.S.
The prince is also the head of the new Council of Economic and Development Affairs, which recently published a 112-page National Transformation Program proposing sweeping changes in the Saudi government. As he traveled across the U.S., the confident young prince talked about the Saudi Vision 2030, an economic diversification and reform plan designed to reduce the Kingdom’s reliance on fluctuating oil revenue and establish a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund.
The prince met with State Department officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, defense, security and intelligence officers, members of Congress, and President Barack Obama at the White House. They discussed joint military, economic and security issues, including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, as well as the campaign against Da’ish, or ISIS.
In New York, Prince Mohammed met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss a recent U.N. report which blamed the Saudi-led coalition’s air campaigns for 60 percent of child deaths and injuries in Yemen. According to an official U.N. statement, the two discussed “putting into place concrete measures that could improve the situation on the ground” to better protect children and civilians in Yemen. The prince also met with Six Flags CEO John Duffey, which may indicate entertainment facilities are in the works for families and children in the Kingdom.
On the West Coast, Prince Mohammed met with CEOs of tech companies, hoping to attract investment capital and new technology to help push the National Transformation Program forward. The plan will train and employ tech-savvy young Saudis who already are some of the most impressive users of social media in the world.
“The young dynamic prince represents 70 percent of our population—the youth,” said delegation member Lina Almaeena, the young co-founder and CEO of Jeddah United Sports, the first local sports company in Jeddah. “We believe in him and his new sophisticated vision to transform our nation and steer it away from oil dependency. The true engine of our country is manpower—as well as employed women,” she said. Just look at the delegation he chose to accompany him. It includes a lot of young people and women, Almaeena pointed out: “This is evidence that he intends the inclusion of all ages and both genders.”
Dr. Ghadah Alghunaim, general director in charge of International Cooperation for the Educational Evaluation Commission, told the Washington Report, “I believe we are entering into a new era fueled by a new generation.” Remarking on the prince’s new plans, Dr. Alghunaim reckoned: “I am living the vision.” When Alghunaim returned home with her Ph.D. in 2014, she discovered she was overqualified for most jobs and was unemployed. Then she was hired to help evaluate and reform her country’s education system. “My country asked me to be part of the change,” she said. “It’s a gift—and 80 percent of the others in our commission are my age.”
Asked if there is pushback from older, more conservative Saudis, she admitted that around 30 percent of the population does not want change. “But we make more noise,” she said, with a grin.
Thanks to Saudi Arabia’s generous scholarship programs, huge numbers of young people have been exposed to many cultures around the world. They’ve returned with different points of view. Many, like Alghunaim, discover that their greatest supporters are their own parents. “My father says I can do anything,” Alghunaim mused. “He thanks God our government supports his vision for me.”
When Alghunaim and the rest of the 60-member delegation met the prince, who is only three years older than she is, she said, “I felt he was speaking directly to me. He has the same thoughts and ideas I’ve dreamed about. He’s the real deal. He asked for our opinions and said we should brainstorm. We’ll either succeed or fail. He asked for help to succeed. I’m very optimistic now.”
The Washington Report asked another delegate, Tawfiq Alkhalifa, editor-in-chief of Exclusive, a Saudi Arabian online newspaper, what headline he’d choose for the prince’s official U.S. visit. “The Beginning of Hope,” he replied with alacrity, adding he’d illustrate his article with the face of a young Saudi girl. “We are very proud of our daughters,” Alkhalifa said. “There are a million young women like Ghadah [Alghunaim].”
Another delegate, poet, writer and member of the Shura Council Dr. Thuraya Al-Areedh, noted, “Every society needs to feel hope for the future. Some older people may feel skeptical or pessimistic but they, too, want to embrace and support the young leader. He has tied every sector to his vision for a healthy future. Every aspect of society has to shift.” ◙
Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.
SIDEBAR
A Chance Encounter
As the female delegates waited in the lobby of the Willard Hotel for the bus to take them on to their next meeting, several women attending a Daughters of the American Revolution function approached to chat. Only days after the Orlando nightclub shooting, this writer worried about an encounter between hijab-wearing Muslims and conservative Americans bedecked with flowered hats, pins and medals.
I should have had more faith in my countrywomen. The DAR ladies welcomed the Saudis to America. Al-Areedh got into a fascinating discussion on genealogy, mentioning that it is simpler in Saudi Arabia because married women don’t change their names. One DAR member said she was from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Al-Areedh joyfully cried, “I’m a Tar Heel, too!” and explained to this bewildered reporter that she’d received her Ph.D. from Chapel Hill.
—D.C.H.
