U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin hosted Royal Saudi Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Turki Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz for an official counterpart visit Nov. 12 to strengthen the longstanding U.S. defense partnership with Saudi Arabia, which has served as a cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence for decades.

As part of the visit, Turki received a full honors arrival and was awarded a Legion of Merit at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling before attending both an office call and staff talks with Allvin at the Pentagon.

During the office call, the leaders exchanged views on the regional security environment and reaffirmed the importance of close cooperation to deter shared threats.

Allvin expressed appreciation for RSAF leadership in regional forums that promote multilateral solutions to common security challenges. Allvin also offered Department of the Air Force support as Saudi Arabia merges its air force and air defense force into the Royal Saudi Air and Space Force.

The office call was followed by staff talks to discuss a range of topics, to include the U.S. Air Force’s ongoing reoptimization for great power competition initiative and the U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, which Saudi Arabia joined in 2024.

Turki met separately with Kelli Seybolt, the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, to discuss key security cooperation initiatives and further identify ways to advance shared interests and priorities.