Obama leading high-powered delegation to Saudi Arabia

New Delhi/Washington: US President Barack Obama will be leading a high profile bipartisan delegation to Saudi Arabia to offer condolences for the recent death of King Abdullah and pay respects to his successor King Salman.

President Obama’s team will include Senator John McCain of Arizona, and several veterans of past Republican administrations, including two former secretaries of state, James A. Baker III and Condoleezza Rice, and two former national security advisers, Brent Scowcroft and Stephen J. Hadley.

Secretary of State John Kerry; John O. Brennan, the director of the C.I.A.; and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the head of the United States Central Command, the military unit that oversees Middle East operations, will also be present, reports the New York Times.

King Abdullah died last week and his successor King Salman moved swiftly in naming successors in one of the Arab world?s richest and most influential nations.

The White House said several Democratic members of Congress would be part of the delegation as well, including some who were already traveling with the president as part of his three-day visit to India, which ended on Tuesday afternoon.

They include Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Ami Bera of California and Eliot L. Engel and Joseph Crowley of New York.

The heavyweight delegation highlights the importance the United States places on its relationship with Saudi Arabia, not just for its ample supplies of oil but also for its leadership in the region and its assistance with intelligence and counter-terrorism efforts.