Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and U.S. President Joe Biden meet at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Saudi citizens will soon be able to obtain 10-year visitor visas, double the current validity, in an agreement during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia announced Saturday the agreement extends the validity of visitor visas for Saudi citizens from five years to a decade as of August 1.
The announcement said travel contributes significantly to both of countries’ economies and strengthens ties between citizens.
Biden is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia that began on Friday with a meeting with King Salman. That was followed by a highly-watched face-to-face meeting with the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The two fist-bumped one another as they met for the first time during Biden's presidency.
Biden said he raised the issue of human rights in his meeting with the prince, but stressed that the visit’s aim is to reassert U.S influence in the region.
The Saudis say 18 cooperation agreements and memorandums were signed by the two delegations late Friday, including an accord with NASA allowing Saudi Arabia to undertake the joint exploration of the moon and Mars in cooperation with the American space agency.
