Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met senior US officials at the White House on Tuesday, ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s official visit to Washington this month.
Also attending Tuesday's meeting were US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The high-level gathering in Washington tackled Saudi-US relations and strategic co-operation between the two nations. The officials also discussed regional and international developments, SPA said.
The meeting came as Prince Mohammed approved an agreement for judicial co-operation between the Saudi Ministry of Justice and the US Department of Justice at a cabinet session on Tuesday, the press agency reported.
US President Donald Trump is reportedly set to host Prince Mohammed at the White House next week in a bid to deepen security, trade and diplomatic relations.
US media reported that that meeting − their first in the US since Mr Trump took office for a second term in January − will take place on November 18. The White House has not yet confirmed the date.
The leaders last met in Riyadh in May, during the US President's historic Gulf tour that took him to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar on his first official state visits since returning to the White House for a second term.
Prince Mohammed's Washington trip is expected to focus on negotiating a formal security pact, similar to that reached between the US and Qatar in the aftermath of Israel's deadly strike on Doha in September. The leaders are also expected to announce expanded partnerships in artificial intelligence, energy and infrastructure.
Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the US, who attended the White House meetings with the Defence Minister, has said US-Saudi relations are at their strongest. While ties in previous decades were based on energy and defence, the modern relationship is "built on technology and innovation", she told attendees at a business forum in Miami.
Prince Mohammed's visit will come after a fragile ceasefire was reached in Gaza last month. This could create an opening for discussions on establishing ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, as the Trump administration seeks to expand the Abraham Accords, a series of US-brokered agreements that established diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Kazakhstan is also expected to join.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said establishing relations with Israel hinges on the creation of a Palestinian state.
