Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, Turkish officials said, three and a half years after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at his country's consulate in Istanbul. The de facto leader of the world's largest oil exporter will be received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had traveled to the Arab kingdom in late April.

These visits revived relations between the two countries, after nine years of tensions stemming from the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring and aggravated by Khashoggi's assassination.

Since being appointed Crown Prince on June 21, 2017, Mohammed bin Salman, popularly known by his initials MBS, has consolidated his power while liberalizing some aspects of Saudi society.

But his efforts to modernize the image of the ultra-conservative kingdom were swept away by the Khashoggi affair.

The reporter, who lived in the United States and collaborated with the newspaper 'The Washington Post', was murdered and dismembered in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 and his remains were never found.

After the shock generated by the crime, Erdogan said that "the highest levels" of the Saudi government were involved in it. After an opaque judicial process in Saudi Arabia, five people were sentenced to death and three to prison terms, but the sentences were not carried out.

The Prince has since overcome diplomatic ostracism and US President Joe Biden is planning a trip to the Middle East in mid-July, with a visit to Arabia to meet with the heir. French President Emmanuel Macron was in the kingdom in December, ending a regional tour with a visit to Jeddah.