Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said his country is moving closer to establishing relations with Israel, and warned that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon then Riyadh will get one too.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News that was broadcast late on Wednesday, Prince Mohammed outlined his vision for Saudi Arabia and addressed global issues including his relationship with US President Joe Biden, as well as China and Russia.
When asked about a prospective deal to establish relations with Israel, Prince Mohammed told Fox News correspondent Bret Baier: “Every day we get closer."
He said reports that Riyadh had told the Biden administration it was putting talks on hold because Israel’s right-wing government was unwilling to offer any concessions to the Palestinians were "not true", and the negotiations were "serious".
An extension of the Abraham Accords to include Riyadh would herald a major shift in regional politics and give Mr Biden a significant foreign policy win before the 2024 presidential election.
The complex negotiations centre on Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, an issue regarded as crucial by Saudi Arabia. Media reports have said a grand bargain would also include US security guarantees.
“For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part,” Prince Mohammed said in the rare, English-language interview.
“We've got to see where we go. We hope that will reach a place, that it will ease the life of the Palestinians, get Israel as a player in the Middle East."
The broadcast followed a meeting between Mr Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The two leaders pledged to work together towards establishing Saudi-Israeli ties.
Iran and Yemen
On Iran, Prince Mohammed said the recent normalisation of ties were an important move away from long-time tension.
"We don't want [tensions] to be normal," he said. "If there is opportunity to shift that and to go to prosperity and interest and working with Iran and ... bringing Iran to work with the Arab world and the Middle East, why not?"
But he voiced concern about the possibility of Iran, a mutual adversary of Saudi Arabia and Israel, obtaining a nuclear weapon. Tehran has denied it is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb.
“That's a bad move,” he said. “If you use it, you've got to have a big fight with the rest of the world.
“If they get one, we have to get one.”
War in Ukraine
Turning to the war in Ukraine, the Saudi Crown Prince said Russia's invasion was "something bad and we didn't want to see it".
"Invading a country, it's something against the rules of the UN," he said.
The Crown Prince said the decision by Opec+ to cut oil production was based on market stability and was not intended to help Russia wage its war in Ukraine.
"We just watch supply, demand. If there is shortage of supply our role in Opec+ is to fill that shortage," he said.
"If there is oversupply, our role of Opec+ is to measure that for the stability of the market."
Prince Mohammed noted that Riyadh has good relationships with both Kyiv and Moscow, and is trying to push "steps to solve this problem".
US and China
Addressing his relationship with Mr Biden, who once said he wanted to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Prince Mohammed said he now has "really an amazing" relationship with Mr Biden.
When asked about Khashoggi's killing, he said those responsible were in prison and Saudi Arabia has reformed the security system to "be sure that these kind of mistakes" do not happen again.
The interviewer asked the Crown Prince, who is 38, about his assessment of the mental acuity of Mr Biden, 80.
"He is sharp, really well focused, well prepared. That's what I see," he said.
On China, Prince Mohammed credited Beijing for its role in fostering the rapprochement with Iran and said President Xi Jinping is "trying to do the best for China".
Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia has undergone major changes in recent years as it has shifted to diplomatic initiatives and progress on Vision 2030, the Crown Prince's wide-ranging plan for overhauling the economy, providing jobs for young people and moving the kingdom away from oil revenue.
Prince Mohammed said he hoped that between 100 million and 150 million people would visit the kingdom by 2030.
He was also asked about critics who have accused Saudi Arabia of investing heavily in golf and other sports in attempted “sportswashing", or spending to improve the kingdom's political image abroad.
Prince Mohammed said he was not concerned by such claims and if sports investments continue to increase Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product significantly, then his country would "continue to do sportswashing".
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
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