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Saudi Arabia is quietly spending millions on a fresh lobbying effort in the US, hoping to finally put to bed Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes part in a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 18, 2019. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERSReuters

  • Saudi Arabia has reignited its formal lobby efforts in the US, a year on from the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and at a sensitive time for US-Saudi relations.
  • Saudi Arabia was made a pariah by lobbyists after Khashoggi's murder, with five major US clients jilting them in a single week after the killing.
  • On Friday, a Saudi soldier shot dead three US citizens at a US Naval base in Florida, prompting many US politicians to criticize the Saudis once again.
  • In November, Saudi Arabia contracted LS2group, Summit Information Services Inc, and Hathaway Strategies to help boost the Kingdom's reputation at a cost of around $1.5 million.
  • It's unclear what specific objectives the agencies have been given, but Saudi Arabia is keen to whip up interest in its new tourism industry, and encourage foreign investment into projects like the NEOM mega-city, and the Saudi Aramco IPO.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. 

Saudi Arabia is spending $1.5 million to restart its lobby efforts in the US to stir-up favor and investment amid a social revolution at home, a year after it was made a pariah over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

After the murder of the Washington Post writer in October 2018, five US communications firms  — Gibson Dunn, Gladstone Place, Harbour Group, Glover Park Group, and BGR Group — jilted Saudi Arabia in the space of one week.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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