Earlier this week, the de facto ruler and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, embarked on a tour of neighbouring Gulf Arab states. The tour will take him to Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Al Jazeera reports that Prince Mohammed’s tour coincides with several other significant diplomatic meetings in the region, including the arrival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Qatar and a “high-ranking security official” from the UAE in Iran.

Saudi government officials told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, a German news agency, that the purpose of the tour is to strengthen the “cooperation and coordination” between the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The tour will host discussions about significant regional issues including “the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the political developments in Iraq in light of the recent parliamentary elections results, the situation in Syria and Libya, and the developments of the Palestinian cause,” according to the Aljazeera report.

Significantly, this trip marks Prince Muhammad’s first visit to Qatar since diplomatic ties were restored between Qatar and Saudi Arabia in January of this year. In mid-2017, in response to mounting international pressure and assistance from Kuwaiti and U.S. mediators, Saudi Arabia lifted the embargo they placed on Qatar in partnership with the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. Although the BBC reported that Prince Muhammad “publicly embraced” the emir of Qatar upon the resolution of this embargo at the Gulf Co-operation Council earlier this year, this week marks the first time he has been to Qatar in three years.

Prince Muhammad’s tour will also take him to the UAE, one of Saudi Arabia’s most meaningful allies. Al Jazeera reports that there is rising dissonance between the two nations about “business amid diverging foreign policies.” Though their political agendas remain congruent, disagreements surrounding economic policy have caused tension between the two “Gulf heavyweights.” Furthermore, the tour aims to resolve this rift and restore harmony between this long-lasting alliance.

Interestingly, the tour will end right before the upcoming annual Gulf summit scheduled to take place in mid-December. Al Arabiya, an international Arabic news organization, reports that it will commence in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The summit will undoubtedly host pivotal discussions on the nuclear pact between Iran and the United States. Al Jazeera writes that though cultural, religious, and tribal ties promote a sense of unification among the Gulf Cooperation Council states, they have vastly different approaches to relations with Iran. For instance, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE have severed diplomatic ties with the state, while Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar continue to have bilateral relations. There is much anticipation surrounding the upcoming summit, with particular attention to the nuclear deal.

The timing of Prince Mohammed’s tour is not random. The discussions taking place throughout this week and next will prime the soil for the upcoming summit. Furthermore, the summit will position the region for upcoming negotiations in 2022. Though information on the immediate goals of the tour is vague, there is no doubt that the prince has a political agenda that will influence wider relations in the region.