The head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Bill Burns, visited Saudi Arabia this week to meet with Saudi officials and reinforce Washington’s commitment to intelligence cooperation, a US official told Al Arabiya English.
“Director Burns traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he met with intelligence counterparts and country leaders on shared interests,” the official said, according to the report.
The official added that Burns reinforced “our commitment to intelligence cooperation, especially in areas such as counterterrorism.”
Burns is a long-serving diplomat. He previously served as the United States deputy secretary of state from 2011 to 2014, and in 2009 he served as Acting Secretary of State before the Senate confirmation of Hillary Clinton. He retired from the United States Foreign Service in 2014 after a 32-year diplomatic career. From 2014 to 2021, he served as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The United States and Saudi Arabia have had a longstanding relationship in terms of security cooperation, with both countries having a shared interest in combating terrorism and promoting stability in the Middle East region. Since the September 11 attacks in 2001, both countries began working closely together to address the threat posed by al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the region.
One area where the U.S.-Saudi security cooperation has been particularly strong is in intelligence sharing. Saudi Arabia has been a key partner in providing valuable intelligence to the United States in its fight against terrorism, including information on the activities of al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the region. This intelligence sharing has been crucial in disrupting terrorist plots and preventing attacks both in the United States and in other countries around the world.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia also partnered closely in the fight to destroy al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State (ISIS). Both groups have been active in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has been involved in a long-running conflict against Houthi rebels who are supported by Iran.
The CIA director’s quiet trip comes on the heels of a surprising agreement signed between Riyadh and Tehran, brokered by China, to restore diplomatic ties.
Recently, the US and Saudi Arabia recently concluded their first joint counter-drone exercise at a new military testing center in Riyadh.
