The crown prince of Saudi Arabia has revealed the country will return to moderate, open Islam.

Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also announced the kingdom would do more to tackle extremism today.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh he said: "We want to go back to what we were, the moderate Islam that is open to the world, open to all the religions.

"We will not waste 30 years of our lives dealing with extremist ideas, we will destroy them today".

The conference, which runs until Thursday, aims to show how the country is opening itself up to the modern world and diversifying economically.

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Prince bin Salman was appointed heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia by his father King Salman earlier this year.

The 32-year-old is seen as the face of the modern kingdom and is the driving force behind its long term economic plan to wean itself off dependence on oil by 2030.

Last month the ultra-conservative Kingdom issued an order lifting the 60-year ban on women driving.

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The absolute monarchy was the only in the world where women weren't allowed legally to get behind a wheel but the ban is expected to be officially lifted by next summer.

Women in Saudi Arabia are also bound by law to wear a headscarf and require the consent of a male guardian for most legal actions.

Recently the country has been opening more areas for women through the government's modernising reforms.

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But they have sparked tensions with influential clerics upon whose support the ruling family relies.

Saudi Arabia is governed under a puritanical form of Sunni Islam known as Wahabism.

Extremist versions of Wahabism have been adopted by jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda and Isis and the kingdom has long been accused of not doing enough to tackle extremism.

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At the conference Prince bin Salman also announced the creation of a new $500 billion city to be built on the border with Jordan and Egypt.

'Neom' will be run using alternative energy and serve as a worldwide technology hub, according to the prince.