WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia and the United States will convene a panel on strategy in Washington on
May 18.
Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki Al Faisal, said the
the Saudi-U.S. Committee for Strategic Dialogue would focus on
counter-insurgency cooperation, Middle East Newsline reported. But the Saudis are coming with an agenda.
Turki said the two countries would also seek to
agree on ways to increase U.S. visas to Saudi nationals.
Fifteen out of 19 of the September 11 killers were citizens of Saudi Arabia. Following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, many Saudi national returned home from the United States, and the United States have tightened visa restrictions on Saudi citizens.
"The dialogue helps facilitate Saudi-U.S. cooperation in combating
terrorism, the most common threat faced by both nations," Turki said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal and his U.S. counterpart,
Condoleezza Rice, will co-chair the meeting.
"The committee will discuss the prospects of reopening U.S. consulates
in both Jedda and Dhahran in order to facilitate obtaining of visas by both
Saudi businessmen and students," Turki said.
Officials said the two
officials would discuss the activities of the U.S. embassy in Riyad.
The dialogue was formed in April 2005. In November, the committee held
its first meeting in November.
Officials said the dialogue would also address energy cooperation,
particularly Saudi oil supplies. They said the committee would explore the
reopening of the consulates in Dhahran and Jedda, closed since 2004 amid Al
Qaida's offensive in Saudi Arabia.
Over the weekend, a Saudi gunman opened fire toward the U.S. consulate
in Jedda. Saudi police captured a suspect and said he was not connected to
Al Qaida-aligned cell.
The dialogue will contains six working groups focusing on consular
affairs, counter-terrorism, economic, education, energy and military.
