Why Prince William’s Saudi trip matters diplomatically (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Welcome back. The Prince of Wales is on a significant foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, hosted by the country's controversial leader. The three-day trip, requested by the British government, aims to strengthen ties with a key Middle Eastern ally and a major regional player. We have these pictures just in of the Prince and the Saudi Women's National Youth Team taking part in a training session ahead of the visit. The Prince and Princess of Wales issued their first public statement around the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, saying they were deeply concerned by the continued revelations. It is a story that has continued to follow him on this trip.

[00:00:38] Speaker 2: Sir, to what extent do you think the royal family has done enough around the Andrew and Epstein issue? Sir, to what extent do you think the royal family has done enough around the Andrew and Epstein issue?

[00:00:53] Speaker 1: So as you can see, there's absolutely no acknowledgement of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Prince and Princess of Wales are on a mission to or response to that question from Prince William, but lots to discuss. Joining me now is Alistair Burt, former Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the Middle East. Very good to see you. First, can you explain the power of sending Prince William to Saudi Arabia? What a deployment like that represents?

[00:01:17] Speaker 3: Thank you, Lucy. It's an important deployment. The monarchy means a great deal, obviously, in Saudi Arabia. It's a different system to ours. There's monarchical rule in Saudi Arabia, where there's a constitutional monarchy in the United Kingdom. But both Prince William and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia are both crown princes, heirs to the throne. And the royal family has a long history of connection with Saudi Arabia. Her Majesty the Queen visited. Prince Charles, as he then was, visited a number of times. And the importance of a royal visit, the opportunity for states to, to talk to each other and display a growing relationship, which it is still in many ways, despite it being historic, there's always new elements. It means a lot. So it's important that he's there.

[00:02:06] Speaker 1: They are both princes, but he is a tricky and controversial figure, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. How would Prince William have been told to and how would he have handled their private dinner last night, do you think?

[00:02:19] Speaker 3: Well, firstly, don't in any way forget that His Royal Highness would have been extremely well-breathed. I was lucky enough to accompany the Prince of Wales, as he then was, on three visits to the Middle East. And he was very well-breathed, gets the same briefing as the Foreign Secretary. And he read them and understood them. And I would be very surprised if Prince William was not in exactly the same position. He will know about the history of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He will know about the region, what's happening at the moment, the changes that have taken place in Saudi Arabia. And his history. So he will know all that. But it won't be the dominant part of the conversation, which will revolve around the mutual interests of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia and some of the new things that have been happening. But he will know all about his country.

[00:03:11] Speaker 1: Yes, but he's been such a passionate advocate, Prince William, for women in sport, girls in sport. That's something he talks about all the time. Very sensitive, that topic, in Saudi Arabia. We've just seen him with pictures there with the Saudi women's football team. But would he have waded into that in the dinner, do you think? Or does he stand back and stay away from some of those things that are more diplomatically sensitive?

[00:03:34] Speaker 3: I think your phrase, wade into that, probably doesn't adequately describe a formal dinner. He will have private time with the Crown Prince. He will always be accompanied by the ambassador and other officials, Stephen Hitchin. The ambassador is well-versed in the region. There'll be opportunities for private conversation. But it's not the... sort of thing that would dominate a dinner. And you wouldn't expect it to. The Prince of Wales is not the government of the United Kingdom. He's there on a government visit, of course. But there are other ways in which the UK constantly press human rights and other issues. And I did notice a statement from Amnesty Today talking about one of the current issues, the case of Ahmed al-Dush. They recognize Prince William's particular sensitivity in these areas, his understanding of them. And that will stand... the UK and others in good stead when those issues come up.

[00:04:29] Speaker 1: Can I ask you, in your view, your opinion, how damaging these allegations are about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor around Geoffrey Epstein? I mean, Prince William was asked about them then. He obviously did not answer. We could see that quite clearly. He didn't even acknowledge the question. But in terms of the royal family, the brand of the royal family abroad, how damaging has this been?

[00:04:50] Speaker 3: Other people will be aware of it. I think the responses of, if I may say so, the royal family, the brand of the royal family abroad, the action His Majesty the King has taken in relation to the former Prince Andrew will have been noticed and recognized by everyone. And he has not been shy in being forthcoming about how he has seen the issue, his concern about the victims of Geoffrey Epstein and the Prince of Wales. I'm absolutely certain we'll feel exactly the same of this. How damaging is it? People will know that this is an important matter. But how it's been dealt with by the monarchy, in the UK, is important. And I don't think they've been shy in saying exactly what they think. But again, it won't dominate the conversation here. There's growing trade relationship. It's a difficult region in which Saudi Arabia is crucially important to the stability of the region, whether it's in relation to Iran or the future of Palestine, Gaza and Israel. So those matters will be discussed as well as some of the cultural things like the women's football, like the World Heritage Center is going to see. And the opportunities between us for investment, and certainly for the transformation of Saudi Arabia's energy sector in which the United Kingdom is going to play a significant part. These will be a major part of the conversation.

[00:06:09] Speaker 1: Very good to talk to you, Asifur. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for your time.

[00:06:12] Speaker 3: Thank you very much.