The King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP), to be set up in Malaysia, can help correct any negative image of Islam and its followers, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hus­sein. He said the decision by Saudi Arabia to have the centre built here showed its confidence in the country’s leadership.

All told, the Kingdom’s prioritization of its economic reform agenda, its interdependence with regional trade partners, and political uncertainty in the United States point to a period of heightened focus on Asia ties in the immediate future. However, Vision 2030’s dizzying ambition of overhauling subsidies and public sector reliance, coupled with channeling a massive, increasingly well-educated youth population into a fledgling knowledge economy, will necessitate that the Saudis cast a wide net to capture as much foreign investment and diversified revenue as possible. 

All in all, Salman’s Asian official visit-cum-holiday is likely to reverberate far beyond the billions of dollars in economic and commercial agreements he signs. The visit also solidified cooperation between Asian nations and Saudi Arabia in the fight against IS.