Saudi Crown Prince meets US senator in Jeddah

Saudi Arabia and US review bilateral ties and discuss a number of issues of mutual concern

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in Jeddah on Tuesday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday met Lindsey Graham, the senior US Republican senator from South Carolina, in Jeddah.

They reviewed the friendly relationship between their countries and discussed issues of common concern, the state news agency reported.

Aaron Strickland, assistant to Senator Graham, and US charge d’affaires Martina Strong also attended the meeting.

Attending for Saudi Arabia were Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi Minister of Defence, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Musaed Al Aiban, Minister of State and National Security Adviser.

Analysts say the recent China-brokered diplomatic thaw in relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran saw the US sidelined from negotiations.

But in a joint statement on Friday, Tehran and Riyadh said they had reached an agreement to resume diplomatic ties.

The senator's visit is an indication of strong continued relations between Saudi Arabia and the US.

US President Joe Biden visited the kingdom during his first Middle East tour in July 2022.

He met King Salman and Prince Mohammed and they discussed bilateral co-operation.

In March this year, the US Senate confirmed Michael Ratney as the next US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, filling one of several vacant diplomatic posts in the region.