US President Barack Obama has opened a brief trip to Saudi Arabia with a one-on-one meeting with King Salman in Riyadh.
The two offer polite smiles as they sit down side by side for pictures at the start of their private meeting.
“The American people send their greetings and we are very grateful for your hospitality, not just for this meeting but for hosting the GCC-US summit that’s taking place tomorrow,” Obama says, referring to the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council summit that starts Thursday.
King Salman, speaking through a translator, offers similarly gracious words for the president.
“The feeling is mutual between us and the American people,” the king says.
President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman walk together to a meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (AP/Carolyn Kaster)
The president is slated to spend little more than 24 hours in the Saudi capital before heading on to visits to London and Hannover, Germany.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are participating in the regional summit, which the White House said would focus on regional stability, counterterrorism including the fight against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and Iran.
Talks are also expected to address the Saudi-led military campaign against Shiite rebels and their allies in neighboring Yemen.
— AP
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