Biden arrives in Saudi Arabia to reset ties with oil-rich kingdom

Biden arrives in Saudi Arabia to reset ties with oil-rich kingdom

US president Joe Biden landed in Saudi Arabia on Friday at the start of a visit which the White House says will recalibrate its ties to the oil-rich kingdom that Biden once threatened to turn into a “pariah”.

Biden was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s day-to-day ruler, at the Salam palace, where the two exchanged a fist bump. The two will meet later on Friday before the president attends a Gulf summit on Saturday that will include the leaders of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.

In his meetings he will push for an increase in oil production to tame rampant energy prices, driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His national security adviser Jake Sullivan said no announcement of an increase was expected this weekend but he hoped one would be made within weeks.

“We believe any further action taken to ensure there is sufficient energy to protect the health of the global economy will be done in the context of Opec+,” he said. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, is the de facto leader of Opec and the only producer alongside the UAE with sufficient spare capacity to significantly increase output. 

Russia is a member of Opec+, under which producers have