U.S. President Barack Obama met in the Oval Office with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir on Wednesday ahead of a wider summit with senior Gulf Arab officials.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice also attended the meeting.
“As all of you are aware, the United States and Saudi Arabia have an extraordinary friendship and relationship that dates back to Franklin Roosevelt and King Faisal, and we are continuing to build that relationship during a very challenging time,” the President said in a statement to the media.
“I can say that, on a personal level, my work and the U.S. government’s work with these two individuals, Crown Prince bin Nayef, on counterterrorism issues has been absolutely critical not only to maintaining stability in the region but also protecting the American people. And I want to thank them for their extraordinary support and hard work and coordination on our counterterrorism efforts. And they came in as a critical component of our coalition in the fight against ISIL, and I’m sure that we’ll have opportunities to discuss as well the progress that’s been made in the fight against ISIL in Iraq, as well as the continuing crisis in Syria, and the importance of us addressing not only the humanitarian crisis but the need to bring about a more inclusive and legitimate government there.”
U.S. President Barack Obama meets in the Oval Office with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In response, Crown Prince Nayef, stated in Arabic as translated, “I would like to thank the President for your kind invitation extended to me and to His Royal Highness, the Deputy Crown Prince. I wish to convey to you the greetings and appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, who attaches — along with everybody in the Kingdom — great importance to the strategic and historic relationship between our two countries.
“This historic relationship we seek to strengthen and broaden and deepen with time. Mr. President, you spoke about the situation in the region, and we look forward to, God willing, to working with you to overcome the challenges and to bring about calm and stability in the region.
“Once again, Mr. President, I want to thank you for this meeting.”
The meeting was just one in a busy schedule for the visiting Saudi leaders that included meetings with CIA, FBI, and Defense Department Chiefs, as well as a visit with Saudi students in the United States, according to reports by the Saudi Press Agency.
