Mohammed bin Salman – Central News Hub

Albanian PM thanks MBS for multimillion dollar fund

The two leaders also reviewed bilateral ties and discussed ways to boost cooperation in several fields including economy, politics, and infrastructure investment…reports Asian Lite News

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has thanked the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman for a multimillion dollar cash fund the Kingdom gave his country.

Prime Minister Rama met with Mohammed bin Salman during the crown prince’s visit to Greece on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Rama thanked Mohammed bin Salman for the Kingdom’s $50 million support and for the Public Investment Fund’s interest in investment opportunities in Albania worth about $200-$300 million, the Arab News reported.

The two leaders also reviewed bilateral ties and discussed ways to boost cooperation in several fields including economy, politics, and infrastructure investment.

And they explored potential cooperation in several regional and international issues of common interest.

They also discussed the latest regional and international developments, and efforts made in their regard, it was reported.

Earlier this week, Bajram Begaj, a retired military officer and politician, took oath as the 9th President of Albania.

In his first address in front of the lawmakers as the President, the 55-year-old declared that he will support and respect both the government and opposition’s work, calling for cooperation between political parties instead of conflict.

“I will carry out this mission above the parties. I will not remain neutral towards anyone who puts political interests above the nation’s interest and I will support and insist on the cooperation between all political forces,” Begaj added.

He urged political parties to “get away from the politics of confrontation and replace it with the politics of dialogue”.

“Unity is needed more than ever to ensure the vitality of our nation. Let us all together make our Albania even more beautiful, for it to be in the place where it belongs.”

Begaj was elected President on June 4.

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Biden raised Khashoggi murder with Saudi Crown Prince

President Biden later said that the Saudi Crown Prince told him he was not “personally responsible” for Khashoggi’s murder.

US President Joe Biden who is in Saudi Arabia, raised the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday and said that he believed the Saudi leader was responsible for the US-based journalist’s death.

“I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think of it now,” Biden said in a speech after hours of meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince in Jeddah.

“I said, very straightforwardly, for an American President to be silent on the issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am,” Biden continued, The Hill reported.

US President Joe Biden meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (Photo: SPA)

“I’ll always stand up for our values,” he added.

However, responding to the questions raised by the media, Biden later said that the Saudi Crown Prince told him he was not “personally responsible” for Khashoggi’s murder.

“I indicated I thought he was,” Biden said. “He said he was not personally responsible for it, and he took action against those who were responsible.”

Biden received criticism earlier on Friday when he was photographed fist bumping the Saudi Crown Prince, who the US intelligence community concluded approved Khashoggi’s 2018 murder, reported The Hill citing sources.

Biden not only highlighted the progress in moving relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel towards normalization and said the US and Saudi Arabia agreed to partner on a “far-reaching” green energy initiative.

Notably, he also expressed optimism that Saudi Arabia would take steps to boost the global oil supply in the coming weeks, which had been viewed as a major goal of the trip given high domestic gas prices globally due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan can also be seen in the photo. (Photo: SPA)

US President Joe Biden landed in Saudi Arabia on Friday for an official visit to the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is Biden’s final stop during his first trip to the Middle East as president of the United States. He visited the kingdom at the invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

He will also attend a joint conference on Saturday with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states, as well as leaders from Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq.

The trip, which began on July 13 and is expected to end on July 16, also took Biden to Israel and the West Bank. Biden’s first official visit to the Middle East shows that, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the big energy crisis created for European countries, he has realized that he must reverse the US strategy of withdrawal from the Middle East and try to recalibrate his relations with Middle East leaders. (ANI)

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