Umamah Bakharia 

Last week, US president Joe Bidden met one-on-one with the leaders of Egypt, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates before attending a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which included Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

On Saturday, Biden reassured Middle Eastern leaders that the U.S. would continue to be heavily involved in the region as it looks to counter growing influence from China, Russia and Iran. “The United States is not going anywhere,” says the president at the summit.

Speaking to Radio Islam International on this weeks ‘Media Lens’ analyst, Ebrahim Deen says the visit had to do with the protection of Isreal and the US perceived threat of China in the region. “These two are the other reasons that inform the trip more than necessarily oil and that’s why we see where the visits was and who he met with,” he says.

Meanwhile, media coverage of the visit focused mainly on the reduction of oil prices being the focus of Biden’s visit and the fist bump with  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“It’s very important to note how Biden has undermined his campaign promises during the visit, but the media has not focused on the bigger issue, which is the US complicity,” says Deen.

On Biden’s visit, there was no focus on Yemen’s war and the normalisation of its ties with Israel. “The Saudis are actually closer now than they were before,” says Deen.