- U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week to work on "climate co-operation" and other issues, two Biden administration officials told Reuters on Friday.
"The visit is a continuation of long-standing engagement between the U.S. and this region," the officials said. Granholm will participate in a meeting of the Net-Zero Producers Forum, a group of countries representing 40% of global oil and gas production, including the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the sources said.
The Biden administration and Saudi Arabia are nearing an agreement for U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, even as an Israel-Saudi normalization deal envisioned as part of a Middle East "grand bargain" remains elusive, sources told Reuters this month.