Biden asserts continued U.S. engagement in Middle East in address to GCC

President Biden asserted the U.S.’ commitment to remain engaged in the Middle East in an address to Arab leaders on Saturday capping his first visit to the region as president amid rising global instability.

“We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia, or Iran,” Mr. Bided said in his remarks to the Gulf Cooperation Council in Saudi Arabia. “We will seek to build on this moment with active, principled, American leadership.”

The president’s remarks, in which he laid out the U.S. framework for engagement in the region, followed a four-day trip to the region — Mr. Biden’s first since taking office.

“A great deal has changed since I visited this region since I served as vice president,” Mr. Biden said, noting the end of the “eras of land wars in the region” which evolved “huge numbers of American forces.”

Mr. Biden spotlighted new challenges facing the region and the globe in his address including the global effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

He also highlighted the U.S.’ continued commitment to keeping terrorism at bay, noting the recent U.S. strike on a senior ISIS leader in Syria.

Mr. Biden met individually with leaders from Iraq, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates earlier Saturday, and extended an invite to UAE’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to visit the U.S. later this year.

The meetings followed Mr. Biden’s closely watched gathering on Friday with Saudi King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bid Salman, who is the nation’s de facto ruler.

Mr. Biden said he raised the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the beginning of his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed, who U.S. intelligence officials say orchestrated his death.

Khashoggi’s murder has largely overshadowed Mr. Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia, where the president sought to convince the kingdom’s leaders to pump more oil, finalize a delicate cease-fire with Yemen, and integrate Israel into the region.

Critics fiercely condemned Mr. Biden’s meeting with the crown prince, accusing the president of sacrificing his commitment to human rights in an effort to lower gas prices in an election year. Mr. Biden was frequently reminded that he once vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah for its role in Khashoggi’s death.

On Saturday, Mr. Biden reemphasized the U.S commitment to human rights in his address to his Middle East counterparts.

“The future will be won by the countries that unleash the full potential of their populations,” he said, including allowing people to “question and criticize leaders without fear of reprisal.”

— Jeff Mordock contributed to this report