Can Crown Prince Abdullah lead his desert kingdom into the 21st century?
Last fall, Abdulrahman al-Tuwaijri received word that he would be exchanging his business suit for a robe and a red-checked head cloth. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah wanted the kingdom’s long-serving representative at the International Monetary Fund in Washington to return home to spearhead a new Supreme Economic Council, an elite cabinet committee charged with liberalizing the economy. The Iowa State University-educated economist had never met the Crown Prince before the summons, but he hears from him often now. ”He always wants to know why things aren’t going faster,” says al-Tuwaijri. Things normally slow down in Riyadh in July. The sun is so intense that the pavement in the Saudi capital turns spongy and the air conditioning in the big American cars plying the streets can’t cool them. But this summer, there’s a new buzz of urgency. After decades of assuming that having the world’s largest oil reserves was a guarantee of prosperity, the Saudis are finally waking up. Prodded
