US President Joe Biden flew to Saudi Arabia on Friday morning in order to meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Said and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Fox News informed.
The President will also attend an energy summit in the kingdom, where according to administration officials state that he will publicly speak on the subjects of human rights and energy security.
After what the White House referred to as a “historic trip” from Israel to Saudi Arabia, the president arrived in Jeddah on Friday before noon, Eastern time at the King Abdulaziz International Airport.
The flight, according to the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “follows the significant decision to open Saudi airspace to all commercial carriers without discrimination, a move that includes flights to and from Israel.”
Upon his arrival, the president greeted nearly everyone on the tarmac by shaking their hands.
The Saudis spread a carpet of pale purple, lining it with a sword-wielding honor guard.
The president then departed the airport to travel to the Al Salam Royal Palace, where he will meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Said.
Later, the Saudi Ministers and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with the president and his team for a working session.
The president and the crown prince exchanged fist bumps upon arrival.
He appeared to forget that the White House had advised him not to shake hands during his visit because of COVID-19 procedures.
After Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor who was assassinated in 2018 by Saudi security personnel, the president will spend time speaking publicly on the problem of human rights, according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during a meeting on Friday.
The White House has justified the “strategic” relationship the Biden administration has with Saudi Arabia by asserting that President Joe Biden wants to “achieve peace” with the nation.
But at a Democratic presidential primary debate in 2019, Biden made a campaign promise to declare the country a “pariah” because of its treatment of people, transgressions of international law, and overt animosity against the United States, including the murder of Khashoggi.
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