Foreign Secretary welcomes Saudi Defence Minister
Foreign Secretary William Hague today welcomed Saudi Defence Minister HRH Prince Salman to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss bilateral and regional issues.
This was Prince Salman’s first visit overseas since becoming Defence Minister and was an opportunity to strengthen relations following the Prime Minister’s successful visit to Saudi Arabia in January.
Commenting after the meeting, Foreign Secretary William Hague said:
“It was a pleasure to welcome HRH Prince Salman to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in his new role as Defence Minister. We have a long history of friendship and cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is an important partner and ally in the region. Today we discussed political and economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa, and how to increase the pressure on President Assad to end his brutal assault on the Syrian people. Both our countries support Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan and his six point plan, and we discussed how to intensify the pressure to end the violence in Syria. We also discussed our joint efforts towards peace and security to Yemen and our shared concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme, ahead of the resumption of talks. Saudi Arabia is an influential voice in the region and we will continue to work closely with them to support a stable and prosperous Middle East.”