Obama expresses ‘strong’ support for Saudi Vision 2030

US President Barack Obama has met with Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington, amid growing tensions between the two countries.

“President Obama met this morning in the Oval Office with His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, to continue discussions begun in April at the US-(Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council (P)GCC Summit in Riyadh,” according to a statement by the White House.

During the meeting held in the White House on Friday, Obama and the Saudi prince discussed a range of issues, including Washington-Riyadh bilateral relations, the Daesh terrorist group and the crisis in Yemen.

“The President commended the Deputy Crown Prince’s commitment to reform Saudi Arabia’s economy and underscored strong US support for achieving the recently-announced Vision 2030 goals,” the statement read.

The Saudi Vision 2030 refers to a sweeping set of programs and reforms recently endorsed by the Saudi cabinet to be implemented by 2030.

Obama also thanked Saudi Arabia for what he called Riyadh’s help to fight Daesh, despite Riyadh’s support for the Takfiri terrorists and other terrorist groups in the region.

“The president expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s contributions to the campaign against ISIL (Daesh)," the statement said.

“They also discussed the important role Saudi Arabia can play in addressing extremist ideology,” it added.

Saudi Arabia is widely viewed as one of the major supporters of Daesh, mainly operating in Syria and Iraq.

Takfirism, which is the terrorist group’s trademark, is largely influenced by Wahhabism, the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia and freely preached by Saudi clerics.

During the Friday meeting, Obama also welcomed what he described as Saudi Arabia’s commitment to resolving the current crisis in Yemen, in spite of the ongoing Saudi military aggression against the war-stricken country.

“The President welcomed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to concluding a political settlement of the conflict and of (P)GCC support to address urgent humanitarian needs and rebuild the country,” the statement noted.

Saudi Arabia launched its military attacks against Yemen in March last year in a bid to bring Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crush the Houthi movement.

More than 9,400 people have been killed and at least 16,000 others injured in the aggression. Saudi Arabia was responsible for 60 percent of the 510 children killed and 667 others injured in Yemen last year.

The Saudi prince’s visit to the US came as relations between the two countries have recently become strained over a number of issues, including Riyadh’s alleged role in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

In May, the US Senate passed a bill that allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Riyadh regime for the damage caused by the tragic event.

Riyadh has vehemently objected to the bill and said that it might sell up to $750 billion in US securities and other American assets if it became law.

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