His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the
Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation,
and Inspector General, and his delegation was received at the
Pentagon today by Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen for in-
depth discussions of bilateral security relations and other
matters. Prince Sultan was accorded a full honors parade and
inspected the honor guard upon his arrival.
In their talks, the two ministers reaffirmed the close ties
in the defense area that have characterized the relationship
between their two countries for many years. The two ministers
discussed in detail the arrangements that have been made in
recent months to improve the security and safety of American
military personnel, and Secretary Cohen praised the support and
cooperation given in this regard by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi
minister confirmed the Kingdom's continued commitment.
As evidence of the close security ties between Saudi Arabia
and the United States, the two ministers reaffirmed their
commitment to close consultations, especially in time of crisis,
and agreed to establish a Direct Telephone Link for secure
communications between their respective offices.
The ministers noted the sixth anniversary of the cease-fire
ending the Gulf War which will be commemorated this week. In
this regard, they noted the findings stemming from United Nations
Security Council-directed inspections that confirmed the grave
risks from chemical weapons that were faced by the Coalition
forces that liberated Kuwait in 1991. The importance that both
countries place on the Chemical Weapons Convention as the
principal means to eliminate this form of weapons of mass
destruction was confirmed. Secretary Cohen praised the
leadership of the Kingdom in having already ratified the
Convention and set an example for the region and the entire
international community.
His Royal Highness invited Secretary Cohen to visit the
Kingdom at his earliest convenience to see for himself the
progress made by Saudi Arabia in modernizing its military forces
for the defense of the country. Secretary Cohen accepted the
invitation and hopes to travel to the Gulf later this year, when
he will also visit U.S. military forces and review recent force
protection initiatives.
