Washington (agencies)
Today, US President Joe Biden begins a visit to the Middle East, accompanied by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, according to a statement by US State Department spokesman Ned Price.
The statement said, “Blinken will accompany President Joe Biden today on his visit to Israel and the West Bank, and he will travel to Saudi Arabia on July 15-16.”
And the Saudi official news agency “SPA” confirmed that at the kind invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and in order to strengthen the historical bilateral relations and the distinguished strategic partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America, and the common desire to develop them in all fields, President Joe Biden is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia on July 15-16, 2022.
According to SPA, President Biden will meet with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, to discuss aspects of cooperation between the two friendly countries.
The schedule of the visit on its second day includes the attendance of the US President at a joint summit called by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Their Majesties and Highnesses the leaders of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, the King of Jordan, the Egyptian President, and the Prime Minister of Iraq, on July 16, 2022.
Ned Price said that Biden will hold consultations with Israeli and Palestinian officials, before heading to Saudi Arabia.
The US President had stressed that Saudi Arabia has been a strategic partner of the United States for 80 years. “When I meet with Saudi leaders on Friday, my goal will be to strengthen the strategic partnership,” he said.
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