Greek-Saudi relations in the spotlight as crown prince visits Athens

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Greece Tuesday to seal a number of agreements on energy, military cooperation, and in other fields. The visit comes as Greece has forged closer diplomatic and economic ties with Saudi Arabia in recent years as it seeks to build alliances and partnerships in the wider region.

This was Mohammed bin Salman’s first trip to an EU country since the killing in 2018 of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and follows President Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Dr. John Sfakianakis joins me to discuss this visit to Greece by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and break down Greece’s diplomatic pivot toward the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, over the last years.  

John Sfakianakis is a senior scholar at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge and an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House. He is also the chief economist and head of research of the Gulf Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.