The recent visit of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, to Washington was not the first of its kind. It was preceded by his historic visit to the United States when he was Deputy Crown Prince.

This visit to Washington aimed to strengthen mutual strategic relations and raise the level of military, economic, security and political consultations and co-operation between Washington and Riyadh. The relationship between the two countries has been deeply rooted for over 80 years when diplomatic relations were initiated in 1933, followed by the establishment of the first Saudi diplomatic mission in Washington in 1944 and the first US embassy in Jeddah 1944, which moved to Riyadh in 1984.

On the political and security level, the US administration is aware of the importance of the Kingdom’s leading role in the Arab and Muslim world in supporting peace, fighting terrorism and strengthening stability through cooperation with Washington. This is also through the coordination between Riyadh and Washington with regard to the issues facing the Middle East region, which faces difficulty due to the Iranian regime that supports terrorist militias and Houthi terrorist groups that are attempting to destabilize the region. This cooperation is also aimed at terminating Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) in Iraq and Syria.

The visit of the Crown Prince also aimed to address important issues related to regional security and to strengthen the level of mutual cooperation between Riyadh and Washington to face urgent international security issues all over the world.

Economically, the visit underlined mutual objectives and resulted in the signing of investment agreements between Riyadh and Washington in the fields of defense, trade, energy and petrochemicals valued at $280 billion. The visit also focused on strengthening the partnership between the two countries so that the Kingdom becomes a major partner in achieving those economic goals. Contracts with big US companies are considered the best proof of the seriousness and importance of these objectives, part of which are directed at strengthening the foundation of the Kingdom’s modern infrastructure as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

As for the military, the visit aimed to raise the level of cooperation for military and security coordination to eliminate and eradicate the sources of terrorism and realize regional and international stability.

Culturally, Saudi-US relations have witnessed a boom as the number of Saudi students studying in the US as part of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program has reached more than 125,000 over the 50 US states.

In summary, Saudi Arabia and the United States have mutual cooperation in all fields and a mutual vision regarding international issues. The relationship between the two countries is deeply anchored in serving mutual interests and facing international challenges that require coordinated responses as these two countries prove their political and economic strength in the world.

Ali Almdaoi,

Falls Church, Virginia, USA