Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, stressed that the main purpose of his ongoing official visit to the United States was to gain US investor confidence in the Kingdom.
He told the Washington Post in remarks published on Friday that he also seeks technological and education assistance in his efforts to reform Saudi Arabia in line with its Vision 2030 plan.
He also spoke about Saudi Arabia’s ambition to develop nuclear power plants, saying that the Kingdom has more than five percent of the world’s uranium reserves.
“If we don't use it, it's like telling us don't use oil,” he told the Post.
The US, he said, would be invited to put in place laws and structures to make sure enriched uranium is not misused.
Prince Mohammed stressed that his country was passing through a phase of change and “we must take advantage of opportunities to work with our partners.”
He also spoke to the Post about the crisis in Yemen, saying that Riyadh had not passed up any opportunity to improve the humanitarian situation.
"There are not good options and bad options. The options are between bad and worse," he added.
The Crown Prince had arrived in Washington on Tuesday, the first of his multi-state tour of the US. He started his visit by holding talks with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Since then, he has held talks with a number of political and economic officials, such as US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, managing director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde and President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim.
The next stop of his tour takes him to Boston.
