Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman addresses the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, making his first public comments since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Photo / AP
In his first public comments since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi security agents in Istanbul three weeks ago, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Wednesday that his country is doing all it can to complete an investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Addressing a gathering of more than 3,000 business leaders from around the world at the Future Investment Initiative, Saudi Arabia's signature economic forum, often called "Davos in the Desert," Mohammed acknowledged no responsibility in the case. He called the killing "a heinous crime" that was "really painful to all Saudis" and to "every human being in the world."
He accused unidentified critics of trying to use the case to "drive a wedge" between Saudi Arabia and Turkey and pledged that this would not happen as long as his father is king and he is the crown prince.
The murder of Khashoggi, a leading critic of the young crown prince, has overshadowed the high-profile conference, intended to highlight Mohammed's drive to modernise the kingdom's economy and diversify away from oil.
With Khashoggi's Oct. 2 death continuing to reverberate, Mohammed's remarks had been widely anticipated here and attracted a packed house in the main hall, a vast auditorium with vaulted doorways adorned with the Saudi symbol of crossed swords and a palm tree.
Mohammed, the country's de facto ruler, is widely suspected of having ordered the covert operation against a man who frequently criticized him as a contributing columnist for The Washington Post.
Mohammed made his comments in Arabic on Wednesday in response to a moderator's question as he participated in a panel discussion with the leaders of Bahrain and Lebanon on economic and financial matters.
"Undoubtedly, cooperation today between the Saudi and Turkish governments is unique, and many are trying to use this painful thing to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey," he said. "I want to send them a message: They will not be able to do that as long as there is a king named Salman bin Abdul Aziz and a crown prince called Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and a president in Turkey called [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan." His references to his father and himself were interrupted by applause in the chamber.
Sitting to Mohammed's immediate right was Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who tendered his resignation last year while visiting Riyadh and was widely believed to have been detained by the Saudis as part of a broader dispute. Hariri later revoked his resignation and returned to Beirut.
Mohammed alluded to the affair at the end of the panel discussion, jokingly saying that the Lebanese prime minister was going to be in Saudi Arabia for two days and any accounts that he has been "kidnapped" should be disregarded.
Saudi government officials have dramatically changed their official story about what happened to Khashoggi, whose death has provoked international outrage. His remains are still missing, and Turkish officials have said Saudi agents dismembered his body, a gruesome detail that has added to the horror and condemnation.
For more than two weeks after Khashoggi disappeared while visiting the consulate to obtain documents related to his planned marriage, Saudi officials insisted he had left the mission alive and that they had no information about his whereabouts.
Early Saturday, the Saudi government acknowledged in a middle-of-the-night official statement that Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate by Saudi agents in a "rogue" operation that ended in a deadly brawl.
The Saudi version of events keeps blame far from Mohammed, who has consolidated enormous power since last year when he was made heir to the throne currently occupied by his father, King Salman.
Instead the Saudis fired five people, including top intelligence officers and aides close to Mohammed, and arrested 18 others.
The United States on Tuesday announced its first concrete step to penalise Saudi Arabia, revoking visas for agents implicated in the killing. President Donald Trump said he would "leave it up to Congress" to determine further steps against the kingdom, which is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and a vast market for U.S. arms manufacturers.
Mohammed spoke Wednesday to an audience dominated by Saudis, and they responded with 18 rounds of applause for him, including one long standing ovation. He talked about positive economic numbers for exports, salaries, unemployment, culture and entertainment spending - and the attendees broke in after nearly every statistic to applaud their leader.
He mentioned that $50 billion in deals were made Tuesday on the conference's first day, and the crowd applauded. He complimented Dubai. Applause. Kuwait. Applause. Egypt, Applause. Jordan. Applause. He even mentioned Qatar, Saudi Arabia's archrival, which has been accused by many Saudi commentators of some involvement in the Khashoggi killing. "Despite our differences," Mohammed said, to more applause.
His comments during the 50-minute discussion were mainly an inspirational appeal for the Middle East to become a greater player in the world.
"I believe the new Europe is the Middle East," he said.
He predicted a "renaissance in the next 30 years" in the Middle East and likened making the region a leader in economic and social innovation to a war.
"This is my war, which I launched personally," he said. "I don't want to leave this life without seeing the Middle East at the forefront of the world." For that, he received a sustained standing ovation.
Afterward, most people approached by a Post reporter declined to comment.
One Saudi man started to talk, but then his boss warned him that company policy forbids speaking to the media. But he allowed the young man to comment without giving his name.
"It was amazing," he said. "It gives us so much faith in all the good numbers that are happening. It gives you faith to go back to your office and work even harder."
Asked about the prince's comments about Khashoggi, the man said he was glad Mohammed addressed the issue.
"As a human being, we all reject what happened," he said. "And we know the government is going to do its best to solve it. Everyone is happy with what he said.
The conference, in an opulent conference center attached to the Ritz-Carlton, has been boycotted by dozens of big-name sponsors and chief executives, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and AOL founder Steve Case.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin canceled his scheduled appearance at the conference but came to Riyadh anyway and met with Mohammed on Monday.
Still, Saudi officials announced Monday that at least $50 billion worth of deals were completed at the conference, including a number with high-profile U.S. companies such as Halliburton.
The grand hallways of the conference center have been filled with executives from across the Middle East, China, Russia, Europe and the United States. Many said that economic and security ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia are too strong to be derailed by the death of Khashoggi.
Among the top executives speaking at the conference on Wednesday was Eric Cantor, vice chairman and managing director of the New York-based investment bank Moelis. The bank's CEO, Ken Moelis, spoke at the conference on Tuesday. Chief executive Samir Assaf of HSBC Global Banking & Markets spoke on a panel Wednesday.
Khashoggi has loomed large over the conference, but he has been mentioned publicly only a couple of times. Prominent Saudi business executive Lubna Olayan kicked off the conference Tuesday with a statement expressing gratitude to those attending the conference and saying Khashoggi's death was "alien to our culture and our DNA."
Also Tuesday, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the killing was "abhorrent."
"As we all know, these are difficult days for us in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he said. "Nobody in the kingdom can justify it or explain it. From the leadership on down, we're very upset of what has happened."
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