President Joe Biden told an Arab Summit on Saturday that the United States would remain firmly committed to its allies in the Middle East and was “not going anywhere” as he lobbied for a regional security alliance that would integrate Israel.
Biden, who began his first trip to the Middle East as president with a visit to Israel, presented his vision and strategy for America’s engagement in the Middle East.
He also sought to use the gathering in Jeddah to integrate Israel as part of a new axis largely driven by shared concerns over Iran.
“We believe there’s great value in including as many of the capabilities in this region as possible and certainly Israel has significant air and missile defence capabilities, as they need to. But we’re having these discussions bilaterally with these nations,” a senior administration official told reporters.
Biden has focused on the planned summit with six Gulf states and Egypt, Jordan and Iraq while downplaying a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That encounter drew criticism in the United States over human rights abuses.
“No country gets it right all the time, even most of the time, including the United States. But our people are our strength. Our countries with the confidence to learn from the mistakes grow stronger,” Biden said.
“So let me conclude by summing all this up in one sentence. The United States is invested in building a positive future in the region, in partnership with all of you, and the United States is not going anywhere.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who inaugurated the summit said it did not have any additional capacity to increase oil production beyond 13 million barrels per day.
The crown prince said: “The Kingdom has announced an increase in its production capacity level to 13 million barrels per day, after which the Kingdom will not have any additional capacity to increase production.”
He also addressed climate change, calling for a balanced mindset through a gradual transition towards sustainable energy sources.
“The environmental challenges that the world is currently facing, especially climate change, and the international community’s determination to maintain the Earth’s temperature in accordance with the levels set by the Paris Agreement, require dealing with them realistically and responsibly,” he said. This would achieve sustainable development, through a “balanced approach” and a “gradual and responsible transition towards more sustainable energy sources, which takes into account the circumstances and priorities of each country,” he added.
The crown prince said that to reach net neutrality on carbon emissions, Saudi Arabia is following the circular carbon economy approach, in line with its development plans. The Crown Prince said that it is enabling its economic diversification, without affecting growth and supply chains, to address emissions through the Green Saudi initiatives and the Green Middle East initiative.
“We hope that the summit will establish a new era of joint cooperation to deepen the strategic partnership between our countries and the United States of America to serve our common interests and enhance security and development in this vital region for the whole world,” he said.
He also called on Iran to be cooperative and not interfere in regional affairs, during his opening remarks at the summit.
