“The visit of Prince Khaled and his accompanying delegation comes in response to an invitation extended by Spanish Defense Minister Carme Chacon Piqueras,” said Spanish Ambassador Pablo Bravo, here Saturday.
The ambassador said: “The excellent relations between our two countries have developed into deep cooperation in diverse areas, including defense matters. Some proposals will be discussed between the meetings between top Saudi and Spanish officials on the sidelines of visit.”
Spanish King Juan Carlos will host a dinner in honor of Prince Khaled on Monday night. Spain signed a military-cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia in 2008, seeking to strengthen relations particularly in the training and technical fields. Up to now, this cooperation between the Kingdom and Spain has focused on training Saudi pilots on the Eurofighter at the southern Spanish air base of Morón.
The visit of Prince Khaled, according to Bravo, comes within the framework of the exchange of visits at the highest level that has been occurring in recent years.
The prince and his entourage members will also meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Tuesday.
The envoy said a Saudi Shoura delegation visited Spain early this month. Trinidad Jimenez, the Spanish foreign minister, will shortly visit Riyadh, said Bravo, while referring to the visits of several top-ranking Spanish officials to the Kingdom. He said that Riyadh and Madrid had forged closer ties in all sectors.
Spain is proud of having hosted in June 2008 an international meeting of religious leaders within the framework of King Abdullah’s interfaith dialogue initiative.
