Saudi Crown Prince, Egypt President on China’s Winter Olympics guest list

AFP | Beijing

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

China yesterday revealed a list of visiting dignitaries for next week’s Winter Olympics that includes the leaders of Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for an event that is being diplomatically shunned by some Western nations.

Among the more than 20 foreign visitors on the list are Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Other royals include Thailand’s Princess Sirindhorn and Prince Albert II of Monaco.

The list released by CCTV also includes leaders from China’s Central Asian neighbours as well as the Emir of Qatar and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin was last year the first foreign leader to confirm his presence at the Beijing Olympics and is included on the list released Friday.

The dignitaries will attend the February 4 opening ceremony, a welcome banquet and “relevant bilateral activities” with Xi, CCTV reported.

Their presence comes despite the US-led diplomatic boycott by countries including Britain, Canada, Australia and Denmark over China’s rights record.

Some Western countries such as the Netherlands have refused to send officials over China’s strict pandemic travel restrictions.

World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are among global institution leaders coming to the Games.