Blinken meets with Saudi crown prince

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, part of his second trip to the country since starting in his post. 

The trip comes amid strained tensions between the two countries and just one day after Saudi Arabia announced it would be the sole OPEC+ member to cut production. President Biden had once pledged to shun Saudi Arabia following the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But last year he traveled to the country in an effort to address rising oil and gas prices and exchanged a fist bump with the Saudi prince that sparked criticism.

In a statement on the meeting, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken and the crown prince discussed joint efforts to combat terrorism, to address security in Yemen and to expand economic cooperation, specifically in clean energy and technology. 

Miller said Blinken thanked bin Salman for hosting the D-ISIS Ministerial on Thursday, for helping evacuate hundreds of U.S. citizens from Sudan and for their joint efforts to stop fighting in the country. 

“The two affirmed their shared commitment to advance stability, security, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond, including through a comprehensive political agreement to achieve peace, prosperity, and security in Yemen,” Miller wrote in the statement Tuesday. 

“The Secretary also emphasized that our bilateral relationship is strengthened by progress on human rights,” he added. 

Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia Tuesday and will remain there until Thursday. 

On Wednesday, Blinken will attend the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council Ministerial “to discuss the growing cooperation with our GCC partners to promote security, stability, de-escalation, regional integration, and economic opportunities across the Middle East.”

On Thursday, Blinken will address the continued threat of ISIS at a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and “reaffirm our commitment to ensure its enduring defeat.”