Thenewly-assigned Saudi ambassador toBritain, Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud whohas received military training at Sandhurst is now leading a position as Saudi ambassadorto London last year with many problems to face and very few solutions to enact,the Telegraph, UK-based newspaper reported in an interview published on January24th.
Theexperience of being an officer cadet at Sandhurst in the 1990s has certainlyleft an indelible mark on Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz AlSaud, the new Saudi ambassador to London. "Anyone who has undergone anymilitary training will tell you it can often be a trying time," he recalls.
The dynamic42-year-old ambassador, who is directly descended from Ibn Saud, the founder ofmodern Saudi Arabia, has impeccable credentials for his current position,having spent much of his childhood at the Saudi embassy in Washington, wherehis father Prince Bandar, was his country's long-serving ambassador.
He is alsowell-versed in the more elite institutions of British society, having beeneducated at Eton and Pembroke College, Oxford before going to Sandhurst. In hisbachelor days he dated the actress and model Vanessa Haydon, who later marriedDonald Trump Jr, and is now himself married to Lucy, the niece of the 12th Dukeof Northumberland.
Indeed, histies to the British aristocracy are such that his wife's maternal greatgrandmother, Lady Celia Crewe-Milnes, was actually born in the opulent mansionin London's Curzon Street that nowhouses the Saudi Embassy. Prince Khalid has decidedly mixed emotions about hisprivileged English upbringing.
Iran Issue
One of hismain tasks as Ambassador will be to lobby the British government to take a hardline on the Iran issue, where Riyadh is a fierce critic of the nucleardeal signed with Tehran in 2015 as it does not address other issues, such asIran's activities elsewhere in the Arab world.
"Iran'smeddling in the region is as challenging as the nuclear programme," heexplained. "This is why we were concerned with the nuclear deal, because it didnot address all the other things that Iran was doing in the region.
"We do not seek conflict. We do not seek escalation. We havealways been supporters of taking a firm stand against Iran. Our issue is notwith the people of Iran, it is with the regime running the country.
"But we do not believe inappeasement. At no point in history has appeasement proved to be a successfulstrategy. You cannot give in to a country like Iran because they will see it asa sign of weakness."
Social Reforms
The otherimportant issue Prince Khalid will be dealing with during his tenure asambassador will be to promote the dramatic changes taking place in his countryas part of the wholesale economic and social reforms being undertaken by theCrown Prince known as Vision 2030.
"The biggestchallenge facing SA at the moment is domestic," he said.
