Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat met with his US counterpart at the State Department on Monday as Washington and Riyadh work to strengthen bilateral ties and coordinate on security challenges in the Middle East.

Axar.az reports, citing Al Arabiya, Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Marco Rubio reviewed the “strategic” Saudi-US relationship along with ways to strengthen cooperation across various fields, the Kingdom’s embassy in Washington said.

“They also discussed regional and international developments, including the situation in Yemen and ongoing efforts to address it,” the embassy said in its post on X.

“The meeting underscored the importance of safeguarding maritime security and freedom of navigation, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, to support regional stability and the uninterrupted flow of global trade and supply chains.”

Prince Faisal and Rubio reaffirmed the importance of continued Saudi-US coordination on issues that are of mutual interest and to support diplomatic efforts that ensure regional security, peace and stability.

For its part, the US State Department said in a statement that Rubio and Prince Faisal discussed “bilateral cooperation on regional security and stability, including in Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, and other regional issues.”