Keir Starmer will meet Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as part of a controversial trip to the region this week designed to drum up investment for his pledge to overhaul British infrastructure.

In his latest overseas trip, the prime minister will head to the Gulf this weekend. He will first travel to the United Arab Emirates for a meeting with its president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before travelling on to Saudi Arabia. Starmer will use the trip to push for a free trade deal with a group of six Gulf nations – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Wooing Saudi Arabia will prove controversial due to widely held concerns over its human rights record and activities during its war with Yemen. Prince Mohammed is believed by US intelligence to have ordered the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. In 2022, Starmer accused Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator” ahead of a visit to the kingdom that was pitched as an attempt to become less reliant on Russian energy.

However, officials said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are already big investors in the UK. Trade with Saudi Arabia is worth £17bn, supporting almost 90,000 jobs across the UK. Starmer will also use the trip to push for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, the release of hostages and an acceleration of aid.

The government is seeking closer ties with the regimes in pursuit of investment needed to deliver the green energy Starmer has promised. Downing Street described them as among the UK’s “most vital modern-day partners” to increase investment and deepen defence and security ties.

“Driving long-term growth at home requires us to strengthen ­partnerships abroad,” Starmer said. “That is why I am travelling to the Gulf this week, to build a network of partners for the UK that is focused on driving high-quality growth, boosting opportunities and delivering for the people at home.”

The government is engaged in a concerted pursuit of Gulf state investment. Starmer’s trip comes days after the state visit to Britain by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Deals were agreed on a green energy partnership, and defence and security cooperation.