US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday as part of a regional tour that will also take him to the United Arab Emirates.

Rubio arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ekhbariya television said, without giving further details.

This is the US Secretary of State’s first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office on 21 January.

Last Wednesday, the US State Department announced that Rubio would travel to Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between 13 and 18 February for high-level diplomatic talks.

Rubio left Israel on Monday after arriving on Saturday for a visit during which he discussed Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Iran with Israeli officials.