Defense
Secretary Ash Carter plans to host Israel’s Defense
Minister Moshe Yaalon in late October for security talks here, Pentagon press secretary
Peter Cook told reporters today.
Cook said the
bilateral meeting between the two defense leaders will “underscore
the strength of the U.S.-Israeli defense relationship and further several of
the initiatives discussed during Secretary Carter’s visit to Israel in July.”
The secretary will place particular emphasis on consultations
regarding ways to enhance Israel’s security, the spokesman added.
During their
July meeting, Carter and Yaalon focused on ways to strengthen mutual
security in the region from missile defense and cybersecurity to Israel’s
qualitative military edge and joint-contingency plans for regional situations,
according DoD News
reports.
Carter’s meeting with Yaalon marked the secretary’s
first stop in a weeklong trip to three Middle Eastern nations, which also
included Saudi Arabia and Jordan, reports noted at the time.
“The secretary is looking forward to the visit by Minister
Yaalon,” Cook said of the October meeting.
(Follow Terri
Moon Cronk on Twitter: @MoonCronkDoD)