US President Biden bumps fist with Saudi Crown Prince

Agencies | Riyadh                                              

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

US President Joe Biden gave a fist bump to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi state television showed on Friday, during his trip to Saudi Arabia that is being watched for body language and rhetoric as Washington seeks to reset relations.

The brief encounter, which was captured by Saudi television, occurred as Biden stepped out of his presidential limousine.

State media showed images of Prince Mohammed greeting Biden at a palace in the coastal city of Jeddah, the last stop of the president's Middle East tour.

The US President is scheduled to sit down with King Salman, the Crown Prince's father, before participating in a broader meeting with Prince Mohammed and other advisers.

Biden was welcomed at the airport in Jeddah by Makkah Governor, Prince Khalid bin Faisal, and Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar. He then walked down a lavender carpet that led to the limousine that whisked him to the most highly anticipated meeting of his trip.

The president was scheduled to sit down with King Salman, the 86-year-old monarch who has suffered from poor health, including two hospitalisations this year.

The future of the region, including the possibility of closer ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, as well as the ebb and flow of the world’s oil supply could depend on the relationship between the US President and the Crown Prince.