Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the U.S. would provide nearly $150 million in aid for areas in Syria and Iraq that were liberated from the Islamic State extremist group.
He spoke at a ministerial conference hosted by Saudi Arabia on combatting the group, which no longer controls any territory - but whose affiliates still carry out attacks across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Blinken co-hosted the conference as part of a two-day visit to the kingdom in which he met with senior Saudi officials, including the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Blinken also attended a meeting of Gulf foreign ministers. The Saudis have meanwhile launched wide-ranging diplomatic efforts to wind down their war in Yemen, resolve a crisis with Qatar, restore relations with archrival Iran and welcome Syria’s President Bashar Assad back into the Arab League after a 12-year boycott.
The kingdom is also hard at work transforming itself into a global power in the world of sports, attracting soccer superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to its local clubs with lavish contracts and entering into a commercial merger with the PGA tour.
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