On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to discuss ways by which the two countries can enhance cooperation.
Johnson stressed upon the importance of Saudi-British ties and reiterated the country’s committed stance towards investment and trade with the Gulf power. The British PM also thanked MBS for his leadership at the Group of 20 (G20), especially in terms of the global coronavirus response, and stated that he was looking forward to the upcoming G20 summit to be hosted by Riyadh in November.
Reportedly, the two leaders also discussed and reviewed developments in the Middle East, particularly the Yemen crisis. The five-year-long conflict, which is still ongoing, has mainly involved international actors—the Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels—battling on ground in what is being known as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Since the Saudi-led coalition began its intervention in Yemen in March 2015, the United Kingdom (UK) has reportedly licensed upwards of £5.3 billion in arms exports to the country. This July, UK’s International Trade Secretary Lizz Truss said that an assessment from the government showed no “clear risk” that military arms exports to Saudi Arabia would be used to commit serious international humanitarian law violations in the region.
Ironically, in 2016, then-Foreign Secretary Johnson had made comments regarding Saudi Arabia’s “proxy wars” in the Middle East, which Downing Street had to clarify as being his personal opinion that was nor representative of the government’s position. However, since taking office as the PM, Johnson has worked towards building a relationship with MBS. In January 2020, when MBS was in the midst of the Jeff Bezos hack scandal, it was revealed that Johnson has been in direct communication with the Crown Prince over WhatsApp. UK officials said that they were sure that the two leaders exchanged messages over the application, noting that Johnson had a habit of giving his personal phone number to world leaders while he served as the country’s foreign secretary.
The recent phone call between the two leaders also came soon after the Kingdom dismissed the commander of the coalition in Yemen and his son as a part of its ongoing anti-corruption purge. The King also sacked the governor of Saudi’s al-Jouf province and has opened investigations into four other officials.
See also: UK to Resume Arms Exports to Saudi Arabia Despite Concerns of Use in Yemen War