Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince set to visit Phl

Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to visit the Philippines by the end of the year, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced Friday.

In a media briefing, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Office of Middle East and African Affairs Alfonso Ver said that the crown prince, also known as MbS, will visit the Philippines as part of his five-country visit to other parts of South Asia, which includes Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, and Pakistan.

"We're working on the dates and we're working on the deliverables," Ver told reporters when asked for the specific date of the visit.

The announcement came after the recently-concluded visit of MbS' cousin, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to the country.

Ver said part of what has been discussed with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo during his two-day trip to Manila was to lay initial plans for the initial visit of MbS.

The 37-year-old heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia, who is already considered the de facto leader of the world's biggest oil exporter, was recently named as the Prime Minister.

Ver revealed that the Philippine government received the information that Prince Mohammed initially wanted to visit the country as early as May to attend the inauguration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

However, the plan did not push through due to time constraints.

Should the planned visit materialize, he will be the first world leader to visit the country under the administration of Marcos.