Agencies-Gaza post
White House announces Biden’s travel to Saudi Arabia, West Bank, Israel
Statement by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on President Biden’s Trip to Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will visit the Middle East region from July 13-16 to reinforce the United States’ iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security and prosperity and attend a Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan (known as the GCC+3). He will also meet with counterparts from across the region, to advance U.S. security, economic, and diplomatic interests.
The President will begin his travel in Israel, where he will meet with Israeli leaders to discuss Israel’s security, prosperity, and increasing integration into the greater region. The President will also visit the West Bank to consult with the Palestinian Authority and to reiterate his strong support for a two-state solution, with equal measures of security, freedom, and opportunity for the Palestinian people.
The President will then travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which is the current chair of the GCC and the venue for this gathering of nine leaders from across the region, at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. The President appreciates King Salman’s leadership and his invitation. He looks forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly eight decades.
While in Saudi Arabia, the President will discuss a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues. These include support for the UN-mediated truce in Yemen, which has led to the most peaceful period there since the war began seven years ago. He will also discuss means for expanding regional economic and security cooperation, including new and promising infrastructure and climate initiatives, as well as deterring threats from Iran, advancing human rights, and ensuring global energy and food security. The President looks forward to outlining his affirmative vision for U.S. engagement in the region over the coming months and years.
This visit to the Middle East region culminates months of diplomacy and follows the President’s meeting with ASEAN leaders at the White House, his travel to the Republic of Korea and Japan, the Quad Summit, his hosting of the Summit of the Americas last week in Los Angeles, and his visit next week to Europe for the G7 and NATO Summits.
