Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to visit Britain this fall in his first visit since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The British government has invited the prince at a time when Britain is seeking to benefit from the Saudi investment program worth a trillion pounds to diversify its economy away from oil.

The government is also seeking Saudi support for an early trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, in which the kingdom plays a key role.

However, the step to welcome Prince Mohammed back to the international stage with a high-level visit to London will spark controversy.

This will be the first time the prince visits the United Kingdom since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi dissident journalist, by agents working for the prince, according to the newspaper, after he was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Prince Mohammed had declined an invitation to attend the queen's funeral last year, sending another member of the Saudi royal family in his place.

According to a source from the British government, any visit to the United Kingdom this year is expected to include a meeting with King Charles. Historically, the British royal family has had close ties with members of the Saudi royal family.

British ministers also want the trip to show tangible benefits to the United Kingdom ahead of next year's elections. But a government source said, "We have a desire for the visit to take place by the end of the year, but ultimately the timing is up to the Saudis," adding, "We do not have a date yet."

A British government official said, "Saudi Arabia is undergoing a very rapid transformation in the same way that Dubai was 10 or 15 years ago, which provides enormous opportunities for the UK's services sector in areas such as: architecture, banking, and legal services."

While the UAE and Qatar have pledged in recent years to invest ten billion pounds in the UK through sovereign wealth funds, Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has yet to commit to a specific investment amount following the diplomatic fallout over the Khashoggi issue.

The United Kingdom hopes to use the relationships and the visit to secure contracts for British companies in the prince's investment program, valued at a trillion pounds, to diversify its economy towards different sectors, including tourism and green energy.