In a sign that Western leaders are seeking to strengthen ties with the world’s top oil exporter despite human rights concerns, Prince Mohammed was also scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron this week, the Saudi state news agency reported. . In Athens, Prince Mohammed held talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and officials unveiled a deal for a fiber optic and data cable to connect Europe to Asia through the Arab kingdom. “I promise you that when I come to Greece, I don’t come empty-handed. We have many issues that will change the game both for our countries and for the entire region,” Prince Mohammed was quoted as saying in a transcript distributed by the Greek government. The officials also signed bilateral agreements on energy, technology, health and fighting crime. Prince Mohammed’s visit to Europe underscores how Western nations are deepening their engagement with the crown prince as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed oil prices to their highest levels in more than a decade. Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia this month and greeted Prince Mohammed with a clenched fist as the US president tried to persuade Riyadh to increase its oil production to help lower global energy prices. The visit marked a remarkable U-turn for Biden, who during his campaign vowed to treat the kingdom as a pariah and not engage with Prince Mohammed, the nation’s day-to-day ruler. Shortly after entering the White House, Biden ordered the release of a US intelligence report that concluded Prince Mohammed authorized the “capture or kill” operation of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Riyadh has blamed Khashoggi’s assassination on a rogue operation. Prince Mohammed denied any involvement. Western nations widely condemned the killing of the veteran Saudi journalist but maintained ties with the kingdom as diplomats argued they needed Riyadh’s cooperation on a range of issues including energy, Middle East politics and climate change.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has boosted the kingdom’s importance to global energy markets, as it is the de facto leader of OPEC and, with the United Arab Emirates, the only producer with spare capacity to significantly increase production. Western governments and companies are also keen to tap into Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth as the kingdom enjoys a petrodollar windfall that will boost the financial strength of the Public Investment Fund. The $620 billion sovereign wealth fund, chaired by Prince Mohammed, has been one of the most active investors in the oil-rich Gulf in recent years as the crown prince has turned it into the main driver of his ambitious plans to modernize conservative kingdom. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks with Prince Mohammed in the kingdom in March, four months after Macron became one of the first Western leaders to visit the crown prince in Saudi Arabia following Khashoggi’s assassination.