Diplomatic Career
On 21 December 2006, Saudi Arabia informed the United States Department of State of its intention to appoint al-Jubeir as the new ambassador to Washington. Ambassador al-Jubeir replaced Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, who served as ambassador for 15 months. Al-Jubeir was appointed by royal decree as Saudi Ambassador to the United States of America with ministerial rank at the Foreign Ministry on 29 January 2007.
As ambassador, al-Jubeir has focused on strengthening the bilateral relationship by building ties across government departments in both countries. Another key area of focus has been the welfare of Saudi citizens living in the United States. Other issues of focus include counter-terrorism, regional peace and security, bilateral trade, cultural exchange and interfaith dialogue. Prior to becoming ambassador, he was instrumental in establishing and maintaining the U.S.-Saudi Strategic Dialogue, which was initiated by King Abdullah and President Bush as a means to institutionalize relations between the two nations and deepen coordination on strategic, political and economic issues.
Ambassador al-Jubeir travels frequently to the Kingdom for consultations with the King and other senior Saudi officials. He is regularly seen with King Abdullah in meetings with world leaders and has accompanied King Abdullah on many state visits including China, India, Pakistan, and Malaysia in 2006 and Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Egypt in 2007.
In November 2007, Ambassador al-Jubeir was part of King Abdullah’s delegation on visits to Italy, where King Abduallah met with Pope Benedict XVI, first meeting between a Saudi monarch and a Pope. In July 2008, King Abdullah convened an interfaith conference in Madrid, Spain, bringing together major figures from Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism and Confucianism to reinforce the common values shared by their respective faiths.
In November 2007, al-Jubeir joined Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal for the meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers in Cairo in preparation for the Annapolis Peace Conference. He was also a member of the Saudi delegation to the Annapolis Peace Conference in November 2007.
During Ambassador al-Jubeir’s tenure, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have signed a series of bilateral agreements in key areas including civil nuclear cooperation, enhanced security arrangements, reciprocal visa policies, health and medical services, science and technology cooperation, among others. The two countries have established two Joint Task Forces— one to combat terrorists, another to combat terror financing. Experts from both governments work side-by-side, sharing real-time information about terror networks. In addition, the two countries have extensive cooperation between their two militaries.
In October 2010, Saudi intelligence provided key information to American officials that foiled an attempted terrorist plot involving parcel bombs heading to the United States that originated in Yemen. The bombs were found and defused before reaching their intended targets.
Al-Jubeir has enhanced the embassy’s focus on its ties with the United States Congress through extensive meetings and briefings with members of Congress and staff as well as facilitating visits to the Kingdom. In the spring of 2007, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the Kingdom with a Congressional delegation, the first visit by a sitting Speaker of the House.
In addition, the tempo of visits by senior U.S. officials have increased substantially during his tenure as ambassador, including two visits by President Bush, multiple visits by Vice President Dick Cheney and a visit by President Obama in 2009. Other visits have included National Security Advisors James L. Jones and Thomas Donilon; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Secretaries of Treasury Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner; Secretary of Energy Steven Chu; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; CENTCOM Commanders General David Petraeus and James Mattis; Homeland Security Advisor John O. Brennan and Special Envoys George J. Mitchell, Dennis Ross, Richard Holbrooke and a large number of sub cabinet officials.
Visits to the United States by Senior Saudi officials since 2007 have included two Heads of State visits by King Abdullah in November 2008 and July 2010. In addition, there were visits by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Director of General Intelligence Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs Prince Muhammed bin Naif, Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, Finance Minister Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Mohammed al-Jasser and Minister of Commerce Abdullah Alireza.
In addition to visits by government officials, there have been numerous trade delegations to and from both countries as well as academic exchanges. These visits reflect the breadth and depth of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Ambassador al-Jubeir served as the Escorting Minister for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama on their respective visits to the Kingdom.
On 3 June 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia. President Obama was received by King Abdullah, Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz and Ambassador al-Jubeir at King Khalid International Airport.
During his visit to Saudi Arabia, President Obama stated that he chose Saudi Arabia as the first stop on his Middle East tour because the Kingdom is a key ally and the cradle of Islam. The President and King Abdullah met and held extensive bilateral talks at the King’s ranch in al-Janadriyah on the outskirts of Riyadh. During their discussions, the two leaders focused on regional and international developments and Saudi-U.S. bilateral relations. King Abdullah presented President Obama with the King Abdulaziz Medal, the Kingdom’s highest award bestowed to heads of state and world leaders.
On 29 June 2010, Ambassador al-Jubeir attended a meeting between King Abdullah and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. The two held on talks on a wide range of issues of mutual interest and common concern.
On 8 January 2011, Ambassador al-Jubeir attended a meeting in New York between King Abdullah and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former U.S. President Bill Clinton as well as meetings between the King and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon.
Ambassador al-Jubeir served as a member of the Kingdom’s United Nations General Assembly delegation in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Furthermore, Ambassador al-Jubeir attended G20 summit meetings in Washington, D.C. in 2008, London in 2009 and Toronto in 2010.
In 2007, he headed the Kingdom’s delegation to the Law of the Seas Conference at the United Nations. In 2009, he met with UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon to discuss the ongoing situation in Darfur and in July 2011, he led the Saudi delegation to the U.N. High Level Meeting on Youth.
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