Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Tuesday in Jeddah where the leaders agreed to work together in a renewed effort to fight terrorism in the Middle East.
Blinken planned to be in Saudi Arabia through Thursday in an effort to build strategic cooperation on regional and global issues, including the coordination of economic and security efforts, the State Department said.
Meanwhile, Blinken used the meeting to put pressure on bin Salman for more progress on human rights as relations between the longtime allies have soured in recent years due to increasing humanitarian violations by the Saudi government.
Washington was seeking more meaningful humanitarian commitments from bin Salman that would ultimately serve to strengthen diplomacy, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The leaders agreed to a separate comprehensive action plan that aims to reestablish political stability in Yemen.
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