Saudi Arabia has also faced accusations of “sportswashing” – investing in sporting events such as the football World Cup, which it will host in 2034, to distract from alleged wrongdoing and to present a favourable image.
Sir Keir’s government has strengthened ties with the Saudis, including through recent visits by the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary.
Prince William’s tour to the country will be his first official overseas visit of 2026 and his first to the Middle East since his 2023 trip to Kuwait to pay his condolences following the death of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, its former ruling emir.
During a 2022 visit to the United Arab Emirates, Prince William voiced his concerns about global warming at the rescheduled Dubai Expo 2020, warning that “change is not happening fast enough or at the scale we need”.
More recently, the future king made a five-day visit to Brazil in November to stage his Earthshot Prize.
The Prince of Wales has also visited Oman in 2019.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.telegraph.co.uk ’
