Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide a $500 million loan to Tunisia at favorable interest rates, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The kingdom will also fund two $140 million projects in Tunisia. In the coming days Tunisia is expected to officially announce deals that were struck as part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Tunis earlier this week as part of his regional tour in the aftermath of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, which also included stops in Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Hundreds of protesters in Tunisia rallied against the crown prince’s visit and his meeting with President Beji Caid Essebsi on Tuesday. Read More
Dozens of Tunisian activists took to the streets of Tunis and Sfax on Monday to protest a visit by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Tunisian unions and civil society groups rallied against the crown prince because of his alleged involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The protests came as police in Turkey raided a rural villa in their search for Khashoggi’s body. Mohammed is expected to arrive in Tunisia today as part of a regional tour, his first foreign trip since Khashoggi’s murder last month.
On Monday, the crown prince visited Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomed him at the airport. The two leaders discussed a range of regional issues and bilateral ties. Prior to arriving in Egypt, Mohammed visited King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Bahrain, where the two inaugurated an oil pipeline run jointly by the Saudi oil company Aramco and the Bahrain Petroleum Company.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will briefsenators on Wednesday regarding Saudi Arabia’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A large, bipartisan group of lawmakers has rejected President Donald Trump’s support for Riyadh and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the matter, demanding a stronger response. Amid the backlash, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., intends to re-introduce a resolution this week that would cut off all US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Read More
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was greeted in Tunisia by hundreds of protesters, blaming him for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and calling for an end to the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.