Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince flew to the United States (US) on Monday for meetings with US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Saudi media reported. The prince would then meet Obama as well as Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Ash Carter in Washington, the newspaper said. Asharq al-Awsat quoted Saudi sources as saying that Prince Mohammed, a son of King Salman, would start his visit in New York where he was expected to meet the UN chief on Monday. Prince Mohammed, spearheading an ambitious plan to revamp the economy of the world's top oil exporter, will also travel to California where he is expected to meet company executives in Silicon Valley, the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said. The visit comes amid a diplomatic row with the UN and policy differences with the US over the war in Syria and relations with Iran.

Source: dna June 13, 2016 09:33 UTC