On his first Europe trip since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sealed a deal to lay an undersea data cable with Greece.
The data cable, which will connect Europe with Asia, is called the “East to Med data Corridor” and will be developed by MENA HUB.
Discussing the possibility of linking their power grids to supply Europe with cheaper green energy, Salman said it will provide Greece and Southwest Europe with ”much cheaper renewable energy.”
While signing bilateral agreements in the fields of energy and military cooperation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Salman said he will also meet France’s President Emanuel Macron.
Both Macron and Mitsotakis were the only European leaders who visited Riyadh since the murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden had met Prince Mohammed and greeted him with a fist bump during his visit to the Saudi city of Jeddah for a summit of Arab leaders.
Saudi Arabia denied the report by US intelligence that implicated the prince in the killing of Khashoggi due to which he had to face international condemnation.
Saudi Arabia came under pressure from the United States and European powers to pump more oil following the spike in oil prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Putting pressure on the Biden administration ahead of mid-term elections, elevated oil prices have been a key factor in inflation in the US soaring to 40-year highs.
Citing its commitment to production schedules determined by the OPEC+ exporting bloc it co-leads with Russia, the world’s biggest crude exporter has resisted pressure to open the supply taps.
(With inputs from agencies)
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