For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary Contact: 202-282-8010 WASHINGTON – Secretary John F. Kelly visited Aqaba, Jordan and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from May 5 to May 8 to participate in high-level meetings with foreign partners and to advance cooperation on a range of security issues.
In Jordan, the Secretary met with His Majesty King Abdullah II and discussed current challenges in the region, including the dynamic threat from terrorist groups, as well as shared interests in aviation and border security. He later participated in the Aqaba Process, a multi-national forum led by King Abdullah to examine the growing terror threat in South East Asia and how to better counter radicalization.
The Secretary also visited a Jordan-Israel border crossing to observe screening processes and discuss how information systems are used to detect and interdict illicit cargo, criminals, and extremists, while facilitating legitimate trade and travel.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Secretary met with Saudi Crown Prince and Minister of the Interior Mohammed Bin Nayef Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud and other senior officials regarding bilateral cooperation, including counterterrorism, information sharing, border and maritime security, cyber threats, and aviation security.
Secretary Kelly visited the historic Al-Shafi Mosque located in the Old City of Jeddah. He also toured the Beyt Nasseef Heritage House, located in Jeddah’s historic district.
The Secretary also visited the Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care to observe the Kingdom’s unique rehabilitation efforts focused on preventing terrorist recidivism through training, reintegration, and teaching counter-extremist ideology.
Opportunities for further collaboration were explored across the broad DHS portfolio, to include cyber- crime capacity building, counter-illicit finance investigations, maritime and aviation security, and border screening technology.
The Secretary was joined in Saudi Arabia by the President’s Homeland Security Advisor, Thomas Bossert. Homeland Security EnterpriseCounterterrorism,Aviation Security,
