RIYADH: The US sees Saudi Arabia as a vital partner and America is committed to the defense of the Kingdom, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “We have a strong partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. We are committed to the defense of the Kingdom,” he said, welcoming Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to Washington for talks on Thursday. “This partnership with Saudi Arabia is an important one, a vital one, and in terms of dealing with some of the most significant challenges we face, one that we are very appreciative of,” Blinken said, next to his Saudi counterpart at a press briefing. Prince Faisal also praised the strong partnership between the two allies. “Our relationship has delivered immense value for both of our countries, but not just for us, also for the region and for the world,” said Prince Faisal. After their meeting, Blinken reiterated US condemnation of Houthi attacks on the Kingdom and American’s commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory and people, said Ned Price, State Department spokesperson, Discussions also included “the common goal of reaching a durable solution to end the conflict in Yemen,” said Price. Prince Faisal called the meeting fruitful, saying there had been discussions on “promoting the aspects of strategic cooperation in all fields and working to intensify joint coordination in regards to several regional and international issues.” Ahead of the meeting, the pair said issues such as regional security, climate change and energy would be on the agenda. “We have a lot of work that we’re doing together on a variety of very significant issues, from climate to energy to Yemen to Iran,” said Blinken. Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat added: “We’re going to talk about regional security and how we can work together on that, but also, as you mentioned, climate change, energy, recovery from COVID-19.”