WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama will host Saudi King Abdullah in Washington on June 29, the White House announced Sunday.

Obama “looks forward to discussing with King Abdullah the strengthening of bilateral ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia as well as a range of common concerns related to Gulf Security, peace in the Middle East, and other regional and global matters,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

The Saudi monarch departed Saturday for a vacation in Morocco before heading to the G20 summit in Canada, to be followed by working trips to Washington and Paris, the Saudi state news agency said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has invited him to be the foreign guest of honor at the 14 July Bastille Day celebrations, and also to visit a new exhibit of Saudi archaeological artifacts at the Louvre museum that opens July 16.