Sources have told Sky News the pair could meet in the autumn as the UK seeks to strengthen its ties with the oil-rich nation.
Rishi Sunak has been accused of “rolling out the red carpet” for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman just five years after the murder of a US-based journalist caused outrage around the world.
Sources have told Sky News that the crown prince has been invited to visit the UK and that the meeting will take place in the autumn.
Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, was accused of ordering the assassination of the Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 – a charge he has denied and blamed on rogue agents.
The scheduled visit will be his first to Britain since the murder, which was widely condemned and saw him shunned on the world stage.
A Downing Street spokesperson declined to comment on reports of the meeting with the Saudi leader when approached by Sky News, while a source said there was currently “no date in the diary”.
However, a Downing Street spokesperson later said the pair had spoken on the phone earlier on Thursday.
They said Mr Sunak “welcomed the opportunity to speak to the crown prince and looked forward to personally deepening the long-standing ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia”.
According to the Number 10 readout, the two leaders discussed trade and investment and defence and security, including the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Yemen.
“The leaders agreed on the importance of allies working together to end the bloodshed in Ukraine and support a just and lasting peace,” they said.
“The prime minister and crown prince said they would continue working closely together to progress UK-Saudi cooperation and looked forward to meeting in person at the earliest opportunity,” Number 10 added.
