RIYADH, Feb 9: The wife of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world’s richest men, is frustrated that she is not allowed to drive in her own country.

Princess Amira al-Taweel told Al-Watan newspaper in an interview published on Monday she was ready to get behind the wheel as soon as the government in Riyadh gives women the right to do so.

“I am certainly ready to drive. I have an international driving licence and I drive in every country of the world that I travel to,” she told the paper.

“I would like to drive here with my sister or my friend next to me instead of a driver.” Her husband Prince Alwaleed, a nephew of King Abdullah, ranked 19th on Forbes magazine’s March 2008 world’s richest list with a fortune estimated at 21 billion dollars.

He has been outspoken in promoting more freedom for women in Saudi Arabia, where strict rules prevent women from driving or going out on their own without a male guardian.

The attractive blue-eyed princess, who helps run her husband’s foundation for orphans and battered women, also broke with tradition in the interview by allowing her picture to be published with her face uncovered.—AFP