U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, will travel to Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia next week as part of a tour that is expected to focus on counter terrorism. Secretary Kerry is expected to be in Jeddah on Wednesday, August 24th.
AFP reports that Secretary Kerry will meet with his counterparts from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in addition to British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
The Yemen conflict and the actions of the Saudi-led coalition are under increasing scrutiny as a result of the recent air strike that killed 19 people at a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) facility in northern Yemen.
In addition, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and others have called for a halt to arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. State Department recently approved a potential $1.15 billion sale to Saudi Arabia of 130 Abrams battle tanks and 20 armored recovery vehicles.
