Trump to push back on Iran, says Saudi FM
The visit “will bolster the strategic partnership” between the US and Saudi Arabia, and open a new chapter in mutually beneficial cooperation between the Islamic world and the West, he said.
The two countries agree on the need to face regional problems, including in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, Al-Jubeir said, adding that Riyadh and Washington were discussing several “initiatives” related to arms sales, economic and security cooperation and tackling terrorism.
“Several agreements will be signed, whether political agreements... and big economic agreements,” he said.
He said relations started in the 1930s when US oil companies discovered oil in Saudi Arabia, and developed a military aspect in the 1950s, going from strength to strength ever since despite regional challenges over the decades such as radicalism, the Soviet threat and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
Saudi Arabia has more students studying in the US than in any other country in the world.
On counterterrorism, in 2010 the Kingdom helped foil terrorist bombings on US soil, and in 2011 the FBI prevented an assassination attempt on the Saudi ambassador.
“We share a very, very large amount of intelligence with the United States and vice versa,” Al-Jubeir said.
“We have had no hesitation about doing so, and we will not have any hesitation about continuing to do so.”
In 2016, bilateral trade reached $35 billion.