The News
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, will attend the first-ever EU-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Brussels, the European Union has confirmed.
His attendance at the Oct. 16 summit marks a “striking turnaround” since Western countries widely condemned bin Salman for the 2018 killing of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Politico wrote.
The meeting, which comes amid spiraling conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, is aimed to foster “a strategic partnership for the 21st century” between Arab Gulf states and the 27-member EU, the bloc’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia wrote for Arab News. Talks are expected to focus on trade, investment, climate change, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism.