British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed meeting in person as soon as possible during a call on Thursday as Western countries court the major oil-producing state.

"The Prime Minister and Crown Prince said they would continue working closely together to progress UK-Saudi cooperation and looked forward to meeting in person at the earliest opportunity," Sunak's office said in a statement after the call.

British media have reported Sunak has invited the crown prince to Britain. A British government official said there were currently no dates in the diary for the leaders to meet.

Britain and other European countries are looking to diversify their sources of energy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and would like to capitalise on Saudi Arabia's investment fund to diversify its economy away from oil.

Last year, then prime minister Boris Johnson held talks with the crown prince in Riyadh. 

(Reporting by William James and Andrew MacAskill, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)