US weapons official to visit GCC June 8

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The Department of State's top official overseeing weapons management is visiting the GCC June 8, it was announced late Friday.

Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Frank A. Rose, will travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a host of European nations, from June 8 to June 24, for what the US described in a statement as "meetings and external events on space security, missile defense, arms control, and other bilateral and multilateral security topics." From June 8 to 11, Rose will be in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman for "bilateral discussions on missile defense and security cooperation," the statement affirmed, where he "will meet with senior officials from each country at their respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense." From June 11 to 13, Rose will be in Barcelona, Spain, "where he will deliver the keynote address at L'Association Aeronautique et Astronautique (3AF) International Missile Defense Conference on June 12," the statement said.

Rose will then head to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE from June 14 to 17 "to discuss issues of strategic importance including defense cooperation," the statement said.

It added that in the UAE, "he will also chair the first ever US-UAE Space Security Dialogue." From June 18-24, Rose will travel to Germany, Norway, and Austria "for consultations on issues of mutual strategic interest," the statement said.