Europe 1 with AFP 1:53 p.m., July 16, 2022
Traveling to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, US President Joe Biden set out his vision for the Middle East.
In particular, he wants to lower the price of oil and improve relations between his country and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
He also announced $1 billion in aid to support food security.
US President Joe Biden is presenting this Saturday in Jeddah to leaders of Arab countries his vision for the Middle East and is trying to stem the volatility in oil prices which is weighing on the world economy.
After a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Joe Biden concludes his first tour in the Middle East with a summit with several Arab countries, in particular the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain), as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.
Joe Biden facing the Middle East
In Jeddah, in western Saudi Arabia, the American president "solemnly" invited his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, to visit the United States, after frosty relations between the two partners his last month.
"The challenges we face today make it even more important that we spend time together," Joe Biden said in a bilateral meeting ahead of the U.S.-Arab summit kicking off in the early morning. -midday.
After a period of tension between Washington and several Arab partners, starting with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, major oil exporters, the 79-year-old Democratic president will "clearly and substantially present his vision" for the Middle East, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday.
Billion dollar food aid
Joe Biden must announce, among other things, that the United States has pledged a billion dollars in support for "short and long term" food security in the Middle East and North Africa, threatened since the invasion of Ukraine. by Russia, a senior White House official said in an interview with reporters on Saturday.
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The trip is already marked by the image of a president exchanging the "check" of the fist with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), accused by American intelligence of being the sponsor of the assassination of the Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi.
Joe Biden had also classified Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” state.