Saudi Arabia, UK sign new security agreements to deepen future cooperation
The meeting, held under the directives of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, focused on a wide range of internal security issues.
Both sides discussed areas of mutual interest between their respective ministries of interior and affirmed their commitment to enhancing strategic cooperation.
Prince Abdulaziz stated on X: 'Today, in the Joint Security Committee meeting of the Saudi-British Cooperation Program (JPO), we discussed the agenda items and signed several agreements as part of our strategic partnership and ongoing collaboration in all security fields.'
He emphasized that the meeting reflects the Kingdom's commitment to advancing security ties with the UK, particularly in combating organized crime in all its forms and in facilitating the exchange of expertise and best practices between professionals in both countries.
The minister also highlighted the ongoing progress in bilateral security cooperation, citing the signed agreements as a foundation for deeper joint efforts in line with the ambitions of both governments.
© Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
20 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump opens Scottish golf course and vows 'peaceful world'
Donald Trump officially opened his new golf course in Scotland on Tuesday, ending a five-day trip in which the US president signed a major trade deal with the EU and gave Russia less than two weeks to end the Ukraine war. To the sound of bagpipes, secret agents and golfers criss-crossed the sprawling complex on the Aberdeenshire coast, waiting for the president to tee off. "We started with a beautiful piece of land, but we made it much more beautiful, and the area has ... really, really welcomed us," Trump said before cutting the ribbon. "We'll play it very quickly, and then I go back to (Washington) DC and we put out fires all over the world," he added. "We have a world that's got some conflict, but we've ironed out a lot of it. We're gonna have a great and peaceful world." Trump's campaign song, the Village People's "YMCA", blared out after the ribbon cutting, as fireworks exploded in the background. The president then teed off with son Eric, who led the project. "This will be a tremendously successful place and a place where people can come and enjoy life," the US leader said, highlighting how his trip has again blurred the lines between his presidency and his business interests. "We wanted this to be the greatest 36 holes anywhere on Earth. And there's no question that that's been achieved," said Eric Trump. "This was his Mona Lisa," he said of his father's connection with the course. "Sculpting the dunes, sculpting the land, that was always his painting," he added. The new course features the world's largest natural bunker, dunes and greens overlooking the sea, with a "focus on environmental sensitivity", said a press release. Visible out to sea were the offshore wind turbines that Trump unsuccessfully tried to block. The president again spoke out against wind power as he hosted European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday. It was one of the many issues Trump addressed during free-wheeling press conferences at his other golf complex in Turnberry, western Scotland over the past days. With Von der Leyen, he announced a trade agreement in which the EU resigned itself to 15 per cent tariffs on goods entering the United States, a deal heavily criticised across the continent. At a press conference Monday with Starmer, Trump promised more aid for Gaza, gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a "10 or 12 day" ultimatum to cease hostilities in Ukraine. "I really felt it was going to end. But every time I think it's going to end he kills people," Trump said of the Russian leader. "I'm not so interested in talking (to him) anymore," he added. Trump also criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan at the press conference and waded back into UK politics on Tuesday when he took to his Truth Social platform to urge the government to cut taxes and incentivise oil drilling in the North Sea, denouncing wind turbines as "ugly monsters". "Incentivise the drillers, FAST. A VAST FORTUNE TO BE MADE for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people," he wrote. Trump played golf at Turnberry on Saturday and Sunday on a visit that mixed leisure with diplomacy. He is to fly back to Washington on Tuesday.
The National
20 hours ago
- The National
Frustration with UK over slow-walk Damascus ties as embassy remains closed
The entrance to the Syrian embassy in London remains littered with cardboard boxes, almost a month after Foreign Secretary David Lammy declared the UK had re-established diplomatic relations in Damascus. Moisture drips over the cracked paint above the door and a plant left in the window of the first floor when the building in Belgrave Square was abandoned in 2012 has long since dried out. I would have expected an announcement, it's really essential Ranim Alwair, Syrian architect Frustration is rising with the UK's cautious approach to the new transitional government in Damascus. Mr Lammy made his first official visit to the capital this month to meet the country's President Ahmad Al Shara. The restoration of formal diplomatic relations this summer has not yet borne fruit in Belgrave Square. Weeks later an exchange of ambassadors has not happened. Observers warn London wavers between wanting to influence that transition and keeping the Syrians at arm's length. The UK government continues to rely on its Special Representative to Syria, Ann Snow, who was the first western diplomat to visit Syria after the fall of Bashar Al Assad in December. The UK set the tone for removing sanctions on Syria in March – paving the way for similar moves by the European Union and later the US. But it delayed official visits for much longer than European counterparts, with French President Emmanuel Macron hosting Mr Al Shara in Paris in May. 'They started quicker than others but then it slowed down,' said Dr Haid Haid, a fellow at Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa programme. 'The relationship did not improve in the same way as it did with other countries. You did not see Foreign Minister Assad Al Shaibani visiting London when he visited Europe earlier this year.' It is understood the delays were due in part to logistics, as the embassy residence in Damascus, which was abandoned in 2012, needs to be repaired. The mission then operated out of the embassy in Beirut. But there have also been doubts linked to the dynamics on the ground, such as the sectarian fighting that erupted in March, resulting in the massacre of hundreds of Alawites – members of a religious community who fought alongside the Assad regime during the Syrian civil war – and again this month with the Druze of Sweida. Many Syrians credit Ms Snow for having persuaded UK ministers to remove the sanctions earlier this year. She is thought to have forged relationships with 'all the relevant people' in Damascus, her frequent visits ensuring the diplomatic relationship runs smoothly. Ms Snow oversaw the UK's humanitarian aid and education programmes in north-west Syria until Mr Al Assad was ousted. When she was appointed to the role in 2023, the region was controlled by opposition and armed groups, including Mr Al Shara's now disbanded Hayat Tahrir Al Sham. She is also active in meeting Syrian communities in London, members of which have been called in to support and advise the new administration and its institutions. Risk takers John Jenkins, a former British ambassador to Damascus, believes a period of 'long consultations' with UK allies would have contributed to the delays in restoring relations. 'We would have had to consult with the Americans and with the Israelis, who are risk averse on Syria,' he said. The Israelis may have felt they 'can't certify' Mr Al Shara, fearing that though he may be taking steps at inclusivity, he may not be able to curtail the more hardline elements within his government, Mr Jenkins added. Questions remain about who could serve as the channel for communication between the UK government and Mr Al Shaibani, as Damascus seeks to re-establish its embassy in London. Dr Haid said the meeting between Mr Lammy and Mr Al Shara last week included a call to reopen the embassies on both sides – though a date for this has not been set. But there are concerns that the UK government has become too reliant on back-channel diplomacy. The negotiations with the transitional administration are believed to have been conducted by Inter Mediate, a UK-based conflict mediation charity which first established contact with Mr Al Shara in 2015. It's founder and former chief executive Jonathan Powell resigned from the group in November when he was appointed Britain's National Security Adviser. The National previously reported he had met Mr Al Shaibani's delegation at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, in an unofficial capacity. Though Inter Mediate is often praised by sources for their work in Damascus, its under-the-radar nature has also been criticised by UK MPs, who say it allows the government to bypass scrutiny. One Conservative shadow spokesman has raised fears the government is covering up the precise nature of Inter Mediate's work in Syria. 'When asked what meetings Inter Mediate has had with the Foreign Office in the last year, ministers have refused to comment on 'private discussions' on its role in Syria,' wrote Conservative MP Alex Burghart in a parliamentary letter. 'This approach is contrary to the expectation of transparency,' he said in a letter to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, seen by The National. Help needed But for British-Syrians seeking to support their country back home, the absence of diplomatic missions on both sides is a major obstacle. The Syrian embassy building in Belgrave Square has been empty since 2012, with no signs of repair to this day. Syria's former flag has been removed. London-based architect Ranim Alwair, who fled Homs in 2012, said a Syrian embassy reopening in London was 'really essential'. Since Al Assad's downfall, she and her sister – a paediatric pharmacist at a major London hospital – have attempted to have their UK qualifications certified in Syria so that they can one day return and work there. But their efforts have been costly, as they were forced to send their documents for certification to the Syrian embassy in Paris. 'In the end, we lost them.' Ms Alwair has been advising Syrian government officials on the best ways to integrate AI into their public administration and on domestic upskilling. She is disappointed that no announcement was made with regards to reopening the Syrian embassy in London after Mr Lammy's visit. The presence of a diplomatic and consular team at a British embassy in Damascus would amount to vital reassurance in case anything goes wrong when they return as British citizens ready to help Syria rebuild. The fledgling government has struggled to bring to a close an outbreak of violence in the southern city of Sweida that has pitted the local majority Druze population against Bedouin tribes and forces loyal to the leadership in Damascus. 'I would have expected an announcement, it's really essential,' Ms Alwair said.
Khaleej Times
21 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UK leader Starmer to hold urgent govt talks on Gaza peace plan
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Tuesday recall his ministers from recess for urgent talks on a Gaza peace plan that could pave the way for the recognition of a Palestinian state. Starmer is believed to have presented the plan to US President Donald Trump when the pair met in Scotland on Monday. Trump said Monday that the US and its partners would help set up food centres to feed the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza facing what UN aid agencies have warned is a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition. But the UK plan is reported to be focused more on achieving a sustainable peace and outline the conditions that need to be met for London to recognise the State of Palestine. The UK has so far said "there can be no role for Hamas", and the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday the conditions could include the agreement of a ceasefire and release of Israeli hostages. The move would follow Emmanuel Macron's announcement last week that France would become the first G7 nation to recognise Palestine. Starmer is under pressure from his party's MPs and members to make a similar move, which was included in the Labour party's election-winning manifesto last year. Trump said on Monday that "I don't mind him (Starmer) taking a position", despite the US administration criticising Macron's move. Starmer last week called footage coming out of Gaza "appalling" and "unrelenting". "The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel's disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible," he said. Starmer added that he was "working on a pathway to peace" that will "set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace". "Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that," he added. Starmer is expected to present the plan to allies in the "coming days", the Telegraph reported.
