President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met for a working breakfast while in Japan and exchanged pleasantries.
Both Trump and the crown prince were in Japan for the G-20 summit and held a working breakfast Saturday morning. The crown prince has been roundly criticized for his alleged involvement in ordering the brutal murder and dismemberment of Saudi dissident and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, who resided in Virginia and was killed last year in the Saudi Embassy in Turkey.
Trump praised the crown prince as “a friend of mine.” He said Prince Mohammed achieved “a revolution in a very positive way” and hailed the 33-year-old prince for “opening up Saudi Arabia,” including for women.
The crown prince responded in kind, highlighting the close ties between the two countries.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for your warm welcome, we are trying to do the best for our country Saudi Arabia and it’s a long journey,” Prince Mohammed said.
“And with you, Mr. President, we did a lot of great achievement in the political side, security side, military side, and the economical side, especially, been never done before,” he added. “So I believe that will continue in our both countries, good for GDP growth, job creation, and more safety for both countries. So we hope to do more.”
After leaving Japan, Trump will head to South Korea. He opened the door to a potential meeting between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Twitter.
