Washington, Feb 5-The White House announced that President Barack Obama will visit Saudi Arabia next month for talks with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) reported.
The White House said: “President Obama will discuss with King Abdullah set of security issues relating to the Middle East.”
According to an official announcement by the White House, Obama is looking forward to hold talks with King Abdullah on the strategic relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia in a number of matters of common interest related to regional security in the Gulf region, the peace process in the Middle East, the fight against extremism and issues related to economic prosperity.
It is expected that the talks focus mainly on the Syrian crisis and the ongoing international negotiations between the major powers and Iran over its nuclear programme.
NINA reported that relations between the two allies had witnessed evident tension in the recent period due to Washington’s stand on the Syrian crisis and the negotiations conducted with Tehran over its nuclear programme.
The statement meanwhile noted that Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia would follow his European tour that includes the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
– Bernama
