Saudi Crown Prince, US Officials Discuss Energy Security

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. SPA
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. SPA
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Saudi Crown Prince, US Officials Discuss Energy Security

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. SPA
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. SPA

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud met on Friday in the Royal Court at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah the Coordinator for Middle East and North Africa in the US National Security Council, Brett McGurk, senior advisor for energy security Amos Hochstein, and the US special envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and the active follow up from the Jeddah Summit, particularly in the fields of energy security and investment in the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, as well as the developments in the region, including Yemen.

The US officials expressed gratitude for the Crown Prince’s mediation efforts that have succeeded in releasing two US nationals among 10 prisoners of war of different nationalities, and their appreciation for the humanitarian efforts that he undertakes in this regard.

The Crown Prince succeeded on Wednesday in arranging the freeing of the 10 prisoners as part of a prisoner release between Moscow and Kyiv.



Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain on Wednesday and met with the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders after they overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Like other Gulf countries, Bahrain had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad’s rule during the Syrian civil war, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and gradually restored ties with the Assad government.

Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit, and days after Assad’s ouster it had sent a message to al-Sharaa offering its cooperation with the new authorities and saying, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.”