Biden to visit Saudi Arabia during Mideast trip in July

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The White House announced Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Saudi Arabia during his upcoming trip to the Middle East in mid-July.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, now the chair of Gulf Cooperation Council, will be the president's last stop during the trip scheduled for July 13 to 16, which also brings him to Israel and the West Bank.

The president "looks forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly eight decades," Jean-Pierre said, adding that "ensuring global energy and food security" is among the issues to be discussed.

The visit to the oil-rich country comes as the Biden administration is facing mounting domestic pressure to lower sky-high gasoline prices. The price of U.S. gasoline averaged more than 5 dollars a gallon for the first time on Saturday.

OPEC+, the group of oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia, recently agreed to raise oil production to help bring down the surging prices.