Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz met with US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and a number of senior US administration officials at the Pentagon in Washington DC.

They discussed joint military cooperation in the fight against Islamic State, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The meeting also discussed bilateral relations and areas of strategic cooperation between the two countries and means of promoting them.

Mattis and Prince Mohammed also discussed “confronting Iran’s destabilizing regional activities,” the statement added.

The two sides expressed their satisfaction over the total alignment between the Saudi and the US sides on the discussed issues and ways to address them.

They also agreed to undertake several initiatives being developed over the next few days.

Meanwhile, Saudi forces have joined Hasm Al-Uqban 2017 military exercise in Kuwait.

The 23-day war games were launched on Sunday 19 March 2017. This is the 14th edition of the series of Hasm Al-Uqban, which started in Bahrain in 1999.

In addition to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, forces from other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and the US are taking part in this exercise.

“Hasm Al-Uqban is among the greatest regional exercises”, said Brigadier Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Rabie, the Commanding Officer of the Saudi units taking part in the drills.

The Kuwait Ministry of Defense said that the drills were aimed at boosting the military capabilities of the GCC countries.

Last October, the Saudi military held exercises, dubbed Gulf Shield One, in the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman.