Biden stays engaged in Middle East

The most circulated visual from Mr Joe Biden's tour of the Middle East, his first as president of the United States, was the fist bump with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - a climbdown by candidate Biden, who vowed during the 2020 presidential campaign to make the oil-rich state an international "pariah" following the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The fist-bump moment overshadowed the remarkable fact that it was the first time a US president flew directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia. It has taken Mr Biden nearly 18 months to get to the Middle East, with trips to Europe and East Asia getting priority. Clearly, Mr Biden proceeded with the trip in an act of realpolitik and to signal a reset in relations. The Saudis are way too critical a regional player to be ignored.

On a broader level, Washington is seeking to repair strained ties and make clear to wary Arab leaders that the US remains committed to their security and the region's stability, amid its increasing preoccupations in East Asia. After stops in Israel and the occupied West Bank, Mr Biden vowed at an Arab Summit in Jeddah attended by the six Gulf sheikdoms, Jordan and Iraq that the US would not walk away "and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran". There is also the reality of oil production and supply amid a global crunch following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The Arab world, which recognises the US is a net energy exporter and no longer dependent on it for oil, has to ponder its options, especially those who are members of Opec, the oil cartel. An upward adjustment in production could signal a partial success of the Biden trip.