Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister and former ambassador to the United States Prince Khaled bin Salman on Tuesday became the highest-ranking Saudi envoy to visit Washington since Joe Biden became president in January, Reuters reports. The prince represented the Kingdom in talks with senior Biden officials on the Yemen war and threats from Iran.
Prince Khaled met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington “to discuss the longstanding partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia, regional security, and the U.S. commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory as it faces attacks from Iranian-aligned groups,” a readout from the White House said. “They also discussed the importance of coordinating efforts to ensure a strong global economic recovery, to advance the climate agenda, and to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. Mr. Sullivan emphasized the importance of progress in advancing human rights in the Kingdom. They agreed to stay in touch regularly over the coming months on these and other issues.”
The visit was reported in the days before it took place yesterday, but the Biden administration did not publicly disclose the visit in advance, according to the AP.
The prince also met with Colin Kahl, the U.S. defense undersecretary for policy, and the two discussed “efforts to end the war in Yemen and the shared U.S.-Saudi commitment to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities” and other issues, the Pentagon said.
Prince Khaled bin Salman, sometimes referred to as “KBS,” is the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He served as Ambassador to the United States during much of the Trump administration, and is a former fighter pilot that carried out airstrikes on Al-Qaeda in the region. Prince Khalid received a Bachelor of Aeroscience from King Faisal Air Academy, and studied for a certificate at Harvard and was in pursuit of a Master’s degree at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He was also stationed at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, where he trained to fly F-15 fighter jets.
Prince Khaled was succeeded by the current Ambassador, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud.
The United States is also said it is closely monitoring talks by the so-called OPEC+ group “and has had high level conversations with officials in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” the White House said on Tuesday.
“We’re encouraged by the ongoing conversation by OPEC members to reaching an agreement … which will promote access to affordable and reliable energy,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
