Saudi Defense Minister Concludes Official Visit to the U.S.

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz concluded his visit to Washington, D.C. today where he engaged in productive meetings on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues.  Prince Salman arrived at Andrews Air Force Base on April 10 where he was received by Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Joseph McMillan and U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Smith.

This is Prince Salman's first official visit as Minister of Defense since his appointment by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on Nov. 5, 2011.

Prince Salman met with a number of senior U.S. officials during his visit, including President Barack Obama; Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, Mr. John Brennan; CENTCOM Commander General James Mattis; and Director of the Missile Defense Agency Gen. Patrick O'Reilly.

Saudi officials accompanying the Defense Minister included Minister of State and member of the Cabinet Dr. Mosaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban; Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir; Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Ayesh, Commander, Royal Saudi Air Force; Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Al-Banyan, Director-General of the Defense Minister's Office; Maj.Gen. Ahmed Al-Qahtani, Director of the Armed Forces Intelligence Commission; Brig. Gen. Talal Al-Ghamdi, Military Advisor, Office of the Minister of Defense; Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Qahtani, Saudi Defense Attache to the U.S.; and Brig. Gen. Tarik Al-Sarhan, Administration of Contracts and Treaties, Ministry of Defense.

The visit is part of the ongoing consultations between the two countries on bilateral and regional issues. 

For more information on Saudi-U.S. relations please visit www.saudiembassy.net or follow the Embassy on Twitter @SaudiEmbassyUSA.

SOURCE Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia