Ryad (AFP)

A year after the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia is trying to regain its place on the international scene, but the crisis has weakened and eclipsed the ambitious reforms of his crown prince, according to analysts.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a self-styled modernizer who brought the ultra-conservative kingdom out of its torpor, was celebrated by political leaders and multinationals before the murder of the dissident journalist on October 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

But the consequences of this assassination, under the most sordid circumstances, have been enormous.

They made the heir to the throne of the most powerful Arab country a sulphurous figure, cast a shadow over its reforms, drew attention to the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia and undermined its alliances with Western powers.

Since then, the prince has sought to restore his reputation by launching public relations campaigns to reconquer foreign investment while accelerating what analysts call "Orientation East", towards less critical allies like China. and India.

But this has had only limited success.

"The ghost of Jamal Khashoggi hangs (still) on the kingdom," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and author of a book on Saudi Arabia titled "Kings and Presidents".

"The murdered journalist and commentator was not forgotten, as Prince Mohammed bin Salman hoped," he said.

The crown prince seems to have assumed responsibility for the murder, but said in a recent US television documentary PBS that he only became aware of it after the fact.

- "Isolated" -

According to press reports, the CIA believes that the assassination was probably sponsored by the Crown Prince himself.

For its part, a UN expert, Agnes Callamard, concluded in June that there was sufficient evidence to open an investigation into the responsibility of the Crown Prince in the Khashoggi case.

These revelations fueled pressure on Western allies in Saudi Arabia to stop selling weapons to them.

These pressures came amid mounting tensions with his Iranian rival, accused by Washington of attacking Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14.

The United States, a key ally of Ryad, has announced following these attacks the deployment of 200 soldiers as well as Patriot missiles in Saudi Arabia.

President Donald Trump has stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia as a client of US arms and a bulwark against the Iranian common enemy, but US officials do not seem inclined to absolve the Crown Prince.

"To a certain extent, the Khashoggi assassination has left Saudi Arabia isolated on a global scale," says AFP Quentin de Pimodan, an expert from the Research Institute for European and American Studies, in Greece.

"On the surface, Trump has supported Ryad, but America insists that it is no longer as dependent on Saudi oil as before Saudi Arabia is alone in the face of Iran's threat and in the conflict in neighboring Yemen, "he adds.

- "Western experts" -

The murder somewhat dampened foreign investors jostling each other in Ryad.

It also appears to have hindered Prince Mohammed's economic reforms, which seek to reduce the kingdom's reliance on oil revenues and stimulate private sector investment.

"Before the assassination, Saudi Arabia was accelerating the commercial partnerships," notes Ellen Wald, author of the book "Saudi Inc. But" the momentum has slowed even if things continue to go in the right direction, "he says.

As proof of Saudi willingness to move forward, Ryad announced Friday the launch of tourist visas, as part of its efforts to diversify the economy, an announcement that many have been waiting for over a year.

The proposed IPO of state oil giant Aramco, the cornerstone of Prince Mohammed's reform program, originally scheduled for 2018, is also delayed.

"Since the assassination of Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia has hired Western experts to promote the kingdom and improve its reputation on social networks," says Pimodan. "But the task of murder will be difficult to erase."

© 2019 AFP