The crown prince of Saudi Arabia has visited Virgin founder Richard Branson at the entrepreneur’s California space port.
Mohammed Bin Salman, who is on a tour of the United States, was pictured in a suit rather than his usual thawb as he explored the Virgin Galactic base in Mojave.
Virgin Galactic announced last summer that the Islamic monarchy was investing £762 million in Branson’s space projects.
During his visit, Bin Salman inspected progress on a new spacecraft being developed at the Mojave centre
Mohammed Bin Salman, who is on a tour of the United States, was pictured in a suit rather than his usual robes as he explored the Virgin Galactic base in Mojave with Richard Branson
Branson and his guest also reportedly discussed ways to boost technology development in Saudi Arabia, moving it from a consumer to a producer
During his visit, Bin Salman inspected progress on a new spacecraft being developed at the Mojave centre.
Branson and his guest also reportedly discussed ways to boost technology development in Saudi Arabia, moving it from a consumer to a producer.
The Virgin chief has also backed a project in Saudi Arabia to develop 50 islands over 34,000 sq miles of the Red Sea.
Human rights campaigners, however, said there was concern about the so-called ‘kafala’ working system in the country, where tens of thousands of jobs would be created for the project.
Nicholas McGeehan, from Human Rights Watch, accused Branson of hypocrisy because he had previously discussed ‘enforced disappearances’ and ‘unlawful prosecution’ of people who may wish to speak out in the country.
The 32-year-old Bin Salman is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and has been taking steps to liberalise his country.
Prince Mohammed opened his tour of the United States on March 20 with a stop in Washington, where he met with President Donald Trump.
During the meeting, Trump said Saudi Arabia has been a great friend to the United States and is a ‘great purchaser’ and ‘investor’ in its economy.
He added that the relationship between the nations was ‘strained’ during former President Barack Obama’s tenure but that he and the crown prince have become ‘very good friends in a short period of time.’
Trump says Saudi Arabia is ‘footing a big part of the bill’ for defense in the Middle East.
Recently, there has been a big shift in the country’s culture and economy thanks to the ambitious prince who has upended decades of royal family protocol, social norms and traditional ways of doing business.
Virgin Galactic announced last summer that the Islamic monarchy was investing £762 million in Branson’s space projects
Prince Mohammed opened his tour of the United States on March 20 with a stop in Washington, where he met with President Donald Trump
The 32-year-old de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia has been taking steps to liberalise his country
He has been laying the groundwork for momentous social and economic changes that will take place this year, defying its conservative reputation for slow, cautious reforms.
Prince Mohammed and his father King Salman bet on a young generation of Saudis hungry for change and a Saudi public fed up with corruption and government bureaucracy.
There is also a need to cut a budget deficit of at 195 billion riyals ($50 billion) caused by collapsing oil prices.
A ban on women driving has been lifted and there are plans to begin issuing licenses to women, even allowing them to drive motorcycles.
This year women will also be allowed to attend sporting matches in national stadiums, where they were previously banned.