SO what the Crown Prince’s tour is about?, ask curious observers. It is a valid question indeed, since these are so unprecedented visits. Usually, a leader carries a certain agenda, be it political, economic, security, academic, or cultural, among other purposes. Mostly, a visit is made to one city — usually the capital of the visiting nation. Meetings are typically limited to counterparts, such as heads of state, prime ministers and ministers. Deals signed are related to the status of the visitor and scope of his/her position.

Here we have something totally exceptional in quality, variety and size. In UK, for example, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia met with the Queen of England, her Crown Prince, the prime minister, the defense minister, and a host of other ministers and dignitaries including religious, parliamentarian, academic, business and military leaders. Agreements were signed worth tens of billion of pounds on a wide spectrum of fields.

In the United States, the story turns into a novel. Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman starts with a full-board meeting with the president and his Cabinet. Then meets with members of that Cabinet, on one-to-one and group basis. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry as well as senior Congress and Senate leaders follow. Next comes a whole list of business executives in a Saudi-American mega meeting. Lively joint cultural and business events and exhibitions took place at the same time. Signed agreements were so impressive, that any foreign leader would regard them as enough of a trophy to return home with.

Not, MBS! For our high-achiever Crown Prince, this was just the start of a long and tireless tour in the United States of America. In New York, he visited the United Nation and Wall Street and met with various political, business and media leaders.

In Boston, the Crown Prince visited the US academia, including Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to explore, discuss and sign many cooperative projects. Off to Seattle, Washington, to visit Boeing and Microsoft, and meet with legendary businessmen, like Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon).

Later, he flies to Los Angles, California, to discuss cooperation with mega studios and entertainment corporations. Silicon Valley software companies are expected to be included in his list of future investors and business partners during a visit to San Francisco, California.

In the oil industry capital, Houston, Texas, our Crown Prince was to meet with oil companies to explore future opportunities and investments in the various fields of energy research and production.

During his tour, MBS has met with the editors of the largest media outlets, such as CBS, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Time Magazine. His honest and direct statements made headlines. The media was used to get diplomatic answers from traditional politicians, but he sounded refreshingly honest, strong and enlightening. They had the chance to test and feel his charisma, energy and intelligence.

Those outlets have had their share of inaccurate reporting about Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince. It may be because of misunderstanding or a result of misinformed/biased sources. Sitting face to face with him to ask all the hard questions about the conflict in Yemen and Syria, the relations with Iranian Axis of Evil, and his local agenda and administrative style gave gave them an opportunity to get first-hand answers. It also gave him the opportunity to explain away all doubts in his open and transparent style. Now, they know better and should report better.

Those must have been tough days and sleepless nights for our enemies... and it shows! Iran and company are raising their tone of attack, level of misinformation and intensity of propaganda. Their PR companies and lobbyists are working hard in Western capitals to defame the Prince and his nation and counter every Saudi move. In the region, their media organs and Arab agents are in full gear and at full speed. They cast doubts, throw accusations and make jokes of every achievement.

Who cares! Our Vision 2030 is too large to allow us the luxury of distraction. Our security is too vital to give the distractors an ear. And our Crown Prince is too busy opening up future horizons with our best allies and partners to even listen to cries of fears, anger and frustration.

The Saudi Express is taking on the world —the good part of it! It runs on green fuel and renewable energy. Only dreamers, explorers and future investors are welcome aboard. Stations on its routes are limited to great nations and superpowers. Those who cannot follow, comprehend or even imagine its speed, quality and higher purposes are not worth a ticket. The train goes on!

— Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi