WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Saudi Arabia on June 3 for talks on Iran's nuclear program and Washington's renewed push for a Middle East peace plan, the White House has said.
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, is a staunch U.S. ally in the region and has been a key player in the drive for a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which Obama has declared a top foreign policy priority.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama would meet Saudi King Abdullah and would also discuss terrorism.
The visit comes at a time when Obama is seeking to build an alliance of moderate Muslim nations to pressure Iran to halt its uranium-enrichment program, which Washington fears is a cover to build a nuclear bomb.
Saudi Arabia is among the United States' top 15 trading partners. Last year, two-way trade totaled $67.3 billion, which equaled about 2 percent of total U.S. exports and imports. Saudi Arabia exported $54.8 million worth of oil and few other products to the United States in 2008, and imported $12.5 billion of U.S. goods.
After Saudi Arabia, Obama will travel on to Egypt, where he is scheduled to give a major policy speech to the Muslim world.
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, is a staunch U.S. ally in the region and has been a key player in the drive for a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which Obama has declared a top foreign policy priority.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama would meet Saudi King Abdullah and would also discuss terrorism.
The visit comes at a time when Obama is seeking to build an alliance of moderate Muslim nations to pressure Iran to halt its uranium-enrichment program, which Washington fears is a cover to build a nuclear bomb.
Saudi Arabia is among the United States' top 15 trading partners. Last year, two-way trade totaled $67.3 billion, which equaled about 2 percent of total U.S. exports and imports. Saudi Arabia exported $54.8 million worth of oil and few other products to the United States in 2008, and imported $12.5 billion of U.S. goods.
After Saudi Arabia, Obama will travel on to Egypt, where he is scheduled to give a major policy speech to the Muslim world.
