ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia and the United States have begun their
first defense summit in nearly four years.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates held meetings with Saudi
leaders on Thursday that were expected to address defense and regional
cooperation, particularly regarding Iran and Iraq.
This was the first visit
to the Arab kingdom by a U.S. defense secretary since 2003, Middle East Newsline reported.
"I think we can always use Saudi cooperation on these issues in the Gulf
region," Gates said.
Then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was the last U.S. defense chief
to visit Saudi Arabia. Rumsfeld arrived in Riyad in April 2003, weeks after
the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Gates met Saudi Crown Prince Sultan on late Wednesday. Sultan, who is
also defense minister, was accompanied by Saudi intelligence chief Prince
Meqrin Bin Abdul Aziz.
The defense secretary also met Saudi King Abdullah. Abdullah
was said to have been concerned over the prospect of a U.S. military
withdrawal from Iraq.
"I think above all, I will be interested in hearing the king's views in
these issues, and how the king sees the situation in the region," Gates said
before the meeting. "His perspective on these things is specially what I'm
interested in."
In 2006, Saudi Arabia ordered more than $10 billion of combat vehicles,
main battle tanks and upgrades as well as aircraft systems from the United
States. The Pentagon has also sought to sell the PAC-3 missile defense
system to Riyad.
