Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, departed the Kingdom on Monday for a tour of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, announced the Royal Diwan in a statement.

It said that the visit comes at the directive of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz out of his keenness on maintaining communication between the leaders of the GCC states and on bolstering fraternal ties with them.

Crown Prince Mohammed will meet with the leaders of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait to discuss bilateral relations and ways to bolster them, as well as issues of common interest.