Original title: the United States and Saudi Arabia renewed a military helicopter maintenance agreement worth about $500 million
Beijing, September 17 (Xinhua) according to a comprehensive report, on the 16th, the US State Department announced that it had approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia and submitted the agreement to Congress for review. The agreement covers the maintenance of Saudi Arabia's military helicopter fleet, with a value of up to $500 million. This is the first such agreement signed by the United States and Saudi Arabia since Biden took office.
It is reported that according to the continuation of the previous agreement, the United States will provide 350 contract technicians and two government officials within two years to deal with the maintenance of Saudi "Apache" and "Black Hawk" military helicopters and the future "Chinook" transport helicopter fleet.
"The proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to improve the security of a friendly country, which remains an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East," the U.S. State Department said in a statement
At the end of January this year, US President Biden ordered a review of all military contracts signed by former president trump with Saudi Arabia and other countries during his term of office. U.S. Defense Secretary Austin cancelled his planned visit to Saudi Arabia last week because he has been unable to meet crown prince Mohammed Salman, who is also Saudi defense minister.