Saudi crown prince heads to talks with Trump in Washington

RIYADH – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman headed to the United States on Monday for talks with President Donald Trump and business leaders in his first visit as heir apparent to Riyadh's closest Western ally.

The state news agency SPA said Prince Mohammed, 32, who has embarked on reforms to modernize deeply conservative Saudi Arabia, would discuss "bilateral relations and matters of common interest", without elaborating.

The ambitious young prince visited Britain earlier this month on his first foreign tour since his rise as part of efforts to persuade Western allies that "shock" reforms have made his country, the world's top oil producer, a better place to invest and a more tolerant society.

He will meet Trump on Tuesday at the White House, press secretary Sarah Sanders said last week.