Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan denied the meeting occured. Reuters
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan denied the meeting occured. Reuters
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan denied the meeting occured. Reuters
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan denied the meeting occured. Reuters

Saudi Arabia denies Israel's Netanyahu visited Kingdom


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Saudi Arabia has denied reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Kingdom on Sunday.

Israeli media had reported on Monday that the Israeli premier had attended a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the new Saudi Arabian mega-city of Neom, but Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the claims were unfounded.

"I have seen press reports about a purported meeting between HRH the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit by [Mike Pompeo]," Prince Faisal tweeted.

"No such meeting occurred. The only officials present were American and Saudi".

Mr Pompeo flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the final leg in a tour taking in the UAE, Turkey, Qatar and Israel. It is likely to be his last trip to the region before Democrat Joe Biden takes over the US presidency on January 20.

In the bilateral talks, Mr Pompeo and the Crown Prince discussed security issues in the region including the need for Gulf unity to counter Iran's "aggressive behaviour" and finding a political solution to the conflict in Yemen, the State Department said.

After his visit, Mr Pompeo said the trip had been "constructive," adding, "The United States and Saudi Arabia have come a long way since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz Al Saud first laid the foundation for our ties 75 years ago."

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar