(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has decided not to attend next week’s Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, said a person with knowledge of the matter.
The most likely reason is that flying more than 14 hours from the Saudi capital Riyadh to the Brazilian city may aggravate a chronic ear canal condition plaguing the 39-year-old widely known as MBS, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
The Saudi leader has in the past experienced ear blockage and inflammation that has lasted days after making long-distance air trips, the person said. He has previously scrapped foreign trips at the last minute, including a state visit to Japan this year when his ailing 88-year-old father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, underwent treatment for a lung inflammation.
A Saudi government official declined to comment.
Prince Mohammed holds the position of prime minister and runs the kingdom’s day-to-day affairs given the Saudi monarch’s fragile health. He attended last year’s G-20 summit in New Delhi.
The absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the fact that Joe Biden’s presidency is ending in two months may have factored into Prince Mohammed’s decision, added the person.
MBS, who enjoys warm ties with Donald Trump, was among the first world leaders to call the US president-elect to congratulate him immediately after his victory earlier this month.
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The royal is also close to Putin. Russia and Saudi Arabia, which are among the world’s top five oil producers, continue to work together to manage market supply through the OPEC+ coalition that they co-lead.
Putin famously high-fived Prince Mohammed during the 2018 G-20 summit in Buenos Aires at a time when the Saudi royal was ostracized by many Western leaders after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The US and its allies have since moved past the Khashoggi affair given the kingdom’s political and economic heft and increasingly prominent role in global finance. The crown prince launched his multi-trillion-dollar master plan known as Vision 2030 to open up the once-ultraconservative and enigmatic country, reduce its reliance on oil and catapult it to the ranks of the top 10 world economies.
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