(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) King Salman bin Abdulaziz's arrival to Washington DC on Friday comes at a critical time for the US as a Congressional vote on the Iranian nuclear agreement looms less than two weeks away.
This visit will not only be the King's first trip to the US since ascending the throne but the first time he will discuss the agreement with Obama face to face. The pressure is on the President to sell the deal to King Salman during the course of his rumored three-day stay.
"His (King Salman's) visit underscores the importance of the strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia," said White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest to reporters last week.
In addition to discussing "steps to counter Iran's destabilizing activities in the region," Earnest noted that Obama and Salman will also discuss the conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
In July, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter paid a visit to Salman in Jeddah to discuss Iran and the countries' security relationship in an effort to maintain a dialogue with the oil-rich country.
But despite the turbulent discussions on the Iranian agreement, Saudi Arabia has continued to participate in the US-led coalition against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in the airstrike campaign in Iraq and Syria. In February, Saudi Arabia also hosted a meeting with military leaders from the coalition. Then earlier in the month, the self-proclaimed Islamic State claimed responsibility for killing 15 at a mosque in the country. Both countries can agree that the group is a mutual target and an incentive for building further upon their bilateral security cooperation.
This week, the US plans to send its Special Envoy for Syria, Michael Ratney, to Moscow, Riyadh, and Geneva in hopes of furthering diplomatic leadership Syria's civil war. Saudi Arabia has endorsed the forces fighting against Iranian supported President Bashar Al Assad.
On Yemen, King Salman will likely ask the US for more support in his own Saudi-led coalition against Iran-backed Houthis rebels.
Although US has provided intelligence and logistical support in this effort it has remained at a minimum because of what the US has characterized to be lapses in humanitarian conditions.
A major point of contention that may arise in these discussions is the US' hope for Saudi Arabia to agree to a deal that could give leverage to a country that is providing support to the Houthis and Assad, two entities that King Salman has made explicit initiatives against.
Outside of politics, both countries have an ever remaining incentive to keep their relationship harmonious by since Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter and the US is one of the world's largest oil consumers.
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