Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan traveled to Washington, the capital of the United States, on an official visit. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry announced the visit on Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet Prince Faisal at the U.S. Department of State. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the two ministers will discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international developments.
Prince Faisal and Rubio met on Monday. The talks stressed the importance of maritime security and freedom of navigation in international waterways, with a particular focus on the safety of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab. The meeting came as U.S.-Iran negotiations have stalled over disputes concerning maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The visit comes as tensions escalate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen. Reuters, citing sources, reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked the United States for military support against the Houthis this month; Washington rejected carrying out strikes but agreed to provide intelligence and targeting assistance.
In July, the Houthis declared a so-called naval blockade against Saudi Arabia and later claimed attacks targeting sites in the kingdom and Saudi-owned vessels with ballistic missiles and drones.
Prince Faisal was in New York last week for the United Nations General Assembly and held meetings with several counterparts on the sidelines of the sessions.
On Tuesday, Prince Faisal met with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Jack Reed, to discuss defense and security cooperation between the two countries and regional developments. He also met with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton.
