President Barack Obama praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its economy during a meeting with the kingdom’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office on Friday.
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He held talks with the Central Intelligence Agency director, the secretaries of state, defense, treasury, commerce and energy as well as leading members of Congress.
Prince Mohammed, who is also the Saudi defense minister, also is due to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon on Thursday.
In Washington DC for nearly a week, the 30-year-old deputy Crown Prince, who is considered by many as the future leader of Saudi Arabia, met nearly the entire top leadership of the Obama administration including secretary of state John Kerry and defence secretary Ashton Carter.
The meeting comes as ties between the USA and Saudi Arabia are strained over how to approach Riyadh’s arch-enemy Iran, the war in Yemen and the seemingly imminent release of a United States dossier about Saudi Arabian links to the September 11, 2001 attacks. “They’re not ideal, nor are we”, he said.
Amid disagreements over the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran, economic reform appears to be a much-needed issue that could bring Riyadh and Washington together.
The two also talked about the deadly Orlando shootings on Sunday, and “expressed their shared commitment to continue their cooperation in combatting the spread of violent extremism, both regionally and internationally”, a state department spokesman said.
But Obama’s administration has been repeatedly embarrassed by the killing of civilians and anxious that while the war has dragged on, Al-Qaeda has been allowed to grow.
The article went on to say that differences in political views between Saudi Arabia and the United States will not affect the Kingdom’s pursuit of implementing its ambitious program to abandon oil and generate other forms of energy.
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The U.N. report on children and armed conflict said the coalition, which began an air campaign in March 2015 to defeat Iran-allied Houthi rebels, was responsible for 60 percent of child deaths and injuries in the conflict previous year, killing 510 and wounding 667.
