Prince Mohammed to meet top US officials, business leaders

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to meet US Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Adviser HR McMaster during his official visit to the United States, which begins on Monday, The National reported, citing unnamed sources.

Last week, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed US President Donald Trump would meet with Prince Mohammed on March 20.

Following his meeting with Trump, Pence will host a dinner for Prince Mohammed on Wednesday, followed by another by McMaster later this week, sources told the UAE-based newspaper.

However, the Saudi Embassy in Washington has not yet released a schedule of the Prince Mohammed's two-and-half-week visit.

According to a tentative itinerary confirmed by US sources, the daily said Prince Mohammed would arrive late on Monday in Washington, where he will spend three days in official meetings, including with Congressional leaders from both parties. 

Prince Mohammed is also expected to meet Defence Secretary James Mattis to discuss counter-terrorism and defence co-operation. He is likely to head to New York on Friday, where he will attend business meetings and a US-Saudi forum.

Separately, Prince Mohammed is also planning to meet business leaders such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, as well as from Uber, Google, and Facebook.

In Los Angeles, Crown Prince is expected to meet Hollywood fraternity members to encourage investments in the Kingdom's entertainment industry.

Prince Mohammed's US visit is his third foreign trip this year following his visits to Egypt and Britain.