Crown prince shows Saudi Arabia has an eye on the post-oil era

MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, first deputy prime minister and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, is visiting Pakistan, India and China. Niu Song, a researcher in Middle East studies at Shanghai International Studies University, comments in an article for Beijing News:

Mired in some thorny issues related to the West, Saudi Arabia is seeking to strengthen its interaction and relations with the three countries, and looking for opportunities for its sustainable development and economic transformation.

In Islamabad, the crown prince signed cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding worth more than $10 billion, vowing to invest heavily in oil refining, petrochemical, renewable energy and mining industries. It is worth noting that an oil refinery to be built by Saudi Arabia is located in Gwadar Port, making it a de facto participant in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.