President Joe Biden will discuss energy supply, human rights, and security cooperation in Saudi Arabia on Friday on a trip designed to reset the U.S. relationship with a country he once pledged to make a "pariah" on the world stage.
Biden will hold meetings with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, along with other government officials, a senior Biden administration official told reporters.
The visit will be closely watched for body language and rhetoric. U.S. intelligence concluded that MbS directly approved the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, while the crown prince denies having a role in the killing.
White House advisers have declined to say whether Biden will shake hands with the prince, the kingdom's de facto ruler. Biden will meet with a broader set of Arab leaders at a summit in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Saturday.
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