Government | Sunday 7 May, 2017 9:20 am |

Three key summits will be held during the historic visit of US President Donald Trump to the Kingdom, according to well-informed sources.

Saudi and US officials held preparatory meetings last Monday and Tuesday to give final touches to the visit, US officials have said.

Riyadh will host the summit between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Trump, and the talks will focus on further bolstering the historic strategic ties between the two countries.

The second summit would be between the US and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and this coincides with the half-yearly consultative meeting of the Gulf leaders.

The third summit will be between Trump and heads of state and leaders from Arab and Islamic states, which are part of the Islamic Alliance to combat terrorism.

The sources pointed out that Riyadh started sending invitations to Muslim leaders to attend the summit. They included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

According to well-informed diplomatic sources, Trump will emphasize during the summit that the US is not against Islam but against those who exploit this great religion for their vested interests, besides underscoring the necessity to join hands in combating extremism and terrorism.

The focus in the US –GCC summit would be the file of Iran and confronting the potential threats posed by it to regional security.