
Ambassador expected to present credentials to Palestinian president during visit
Saudi Arabia’s first ambassador to Palestine arrived in the West Bank on Tuesday on an official visit.
Ambassador Nayef bin Bandar al-Sudairi arrived in the West Bank via the al-Karama border crossing, traveling from Jordan on a two-day visit, during which he will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas.
Al-Sudairi is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh as well.
On Monday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said al-Sudairi will visit Ramallah on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Aug. 13, the official Saudi Press Agency reported that al-Sudairi, who is also the Saudi ambassador to Jordan, “formally presented a copy of his credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Non-Resident Ambassador to the State of Palestine and Consul General in Jerusalem.”
Al-Sudairi is the first Saudi ambassador to Palestine. The kingdom had a Consulate General in Jerusalem, but it was closed with Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967, when the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was under Jordanian administration at the time.