End of visit for Biden in the Middle East, where he tried to reassert American influence
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman 'checks' US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. VIA REUTERS - BANDAR ALGALOUD
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The visit of the American president to the Middle East ended this Saturday, July 16 in Saudi Arabia with the summit bringing together the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The body brings together the host country, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Three key countries in the region were invited for the occasion: Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.
The opportunity for Joe Biden to present his vision of the Middle East for the next few years.
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US President Joe Biden wrapped up his first Middle East tour on Saturday after a controversial visit to Saudi Arabia, where he tried to reassert US influence.
Above all, he will remain the image of his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salman, known as “MBS”.
The president exchanged a fist "check" with MBS, accused by American intelligence of being the sponsor of the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi in 2018. Joe Biden had also promised to treat the kingdom as a "
pariah
" country. ".
Journalist 1 to Mohamed Ben Salmane: “Are you going to apologize to the family of Jamal Khashoggi?
Journalist 2 to Joe Biden: “
Is Saudi Arabia still a pariah?
Silence from those concerned
.
pic.twitter.com/AsvxbSjbw1
— Theo Laubry 🇺🇸 (@TheoLaubry) July 15, 2022
Criticized for his visit to the Gulf monarchy accused of serious human rights violations, Joe Biden said that "
the future would belong to the countries (...) whose citizens can question and criticize their leaders without fear of reprisals
".
Reaffirm the presence of the United States in the region
The 79-year-old American president began his tour of the region on Wednesday with a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories before traveling to Saudi Arabia to attend a summit in Jeddah bringing together the six members of the Cooperation Council of the Gulf and three guest countries.
Leaders pose for official photograph ahead of the Jeddah Summit on Security and Development, in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, July 16, 2022. VIA REUTERS - SAUDI ROYAL COURT
In a speech delivered on Saturday to an audience of Arab leaders, Joe Biden promised that his country "
would not turn away
" from the Middle East by leaving "
a vacuum that could be filled by China, Russia or Iran
".
Joe Biden's statement on the American presence in the Middle East
Timid cooperation
The Biden administration says it wants to promote a new "
vision
" for the Middle East, based on dialogue and economic and military cooperation.
Against the backdrop of the normalization processes between Israel and certain Arab countries, in which Washington would also like to involve Saudi Arabia, Mr. Biden welcomed Riyadh's "
historic
" decision to open its airspace to "
all carriers
including Israelis.
Landed in Saudi Arabia which just opened its airspace to civilian aircraft.
The press charter plane was the first to travel directly from Israel to Jeddah.
pic.twitter.com/VgCAu0hdMZ
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) July 15, 2022
Shortly after his departure, the Saudis nevertheless sought to temper an announcement that "
has nothing to do with diplomatic ties
" with the Jewish state, according to the Saudi Foreign Minister.
For Prince Faisal ben Farhane, it is only a question
of "ensuring a connection between the different countries of the world
" and it is "
in no way a prelude to any step
" towards normalization.
Priority to oil and financial aid
The increase in the gallon of gasoline is a considerable issue a few months before the midterm elections in the United States.
“
I am doing everything possible to increase production for the United States
,” Joe Biden said on Friday, claiming to have had fruitful discussions with the Saudis, the concrete results of which will be seen “
in a few weeks
”.
Saudi Arabia and the United States have concluded 18 cooperation agreements in a wide variety of fields (space, finance, energy, health), according to a press release from the Gulf monarchy.
The United States has also pledged $1 billion in support for "
short- and long-term
" food security in the Middle East and North Africa.
First meeting between Joe Biden and Abdel Fattah al-Sissi
With our correspondent in Cairo,
Alexandre Buccianti
US Presidents Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi met for the first time on the sidelines of the US-Arab summit in Riyadh on regional security and development.
Food security, energy and strategic and military cooperation were discussed.
$50 million for Egypt's food security is the commitment made by President Joe Biden at the end of the meeting with Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.
Enough to finance less than 2% of the annual wheat imports necessary for Egypt's food security.
For Cairo, the commitment of the American president to support Egypt in its requests for loans from the IMF and the World Bank is clearly more important.
We also welcome in Egypt the resumption of the strategic dialogue which had been symbolically affected by the cancellation, at the beginning of the year, of 10% of American military aid to Egypt for "failure to respect the rights of the 'man ".
It is believed in Cairo that the “dispute” between Egypt and the United States is now on the way to being overcome due to mutual interests.
Washington recently approved a $2.5 billion arms deal with Egypt.
Washington has reached an agreement with Jordan to provide the country with financial assistance of 1.45 billion per year, from 2023 until 2029.
(With AFP)
►
Also to listen: Bertrand Besancenot: "Biden's visit shows a weakening of the United States in the Gulf"
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Saudi Arabia
United States
Geopolitics
Joe Biden
Egypt
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi