TAMPA — Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman visited the US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

Upon arrival, Prince Khalid was received by the Commander of the US Central Command, Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, and senior US military officials in the US Central Command.

Prince Khalid and Gen. Kurilla reviewed the historical bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them consistent with the strategic partnership between the Kingdom and the US, in addition to discussing military and defense cooperation.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of issues of common interest, including challenges facing the region and ways to address them. They stressed the importance of coordination between the two countries, and their roles in maintaining security and preserving regional and international stability.

On the Saudi side, the meeting was attended by Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyad Al-Ruwaili, Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Major General Pilot Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, Military Adviser to the Minister of Defense Major General Engineer Talal Al-Otaibi, and Director of the Office of the Deputy Minister of Defense Hisham bin Saif, and the Saudi Military Attache in Washington and Ottawa, Major General Fawaz Al-Fawaz.

In attendance from the American side were the Deputy Commander of the US Central Command Vice Admiral James Malloy, Chief of Staff of the Central Command Major General Patrick Frank, and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of US Central Command Nikolas Granger. — SPA