Abdullah Al-Khayyal

Abdullah al-Khayyal represented Saudi Arabia in Washington from 1954 to 1964. His negotiations concerned the practical terms of American support for the kingdom's armed forces and infrastructure. In October 1955 he asked Secretary of State John Foster Dulles for arms, assistance for ports and railways, and reconsideration of a tank purchase. He pressed for aid with fewer conditions, while Dulles explained the legal and congressional restrictions on American grants. ^{1, 2}

Al-Khayyal also carried messages between King Saud and President John F. Kennedy. At their July 1961 meeting, he delivered the king's response to Kennedy's proposals on the Arab–Israeli dispute and asked for firm answers about military deliveries before returning home. Kennedy directed his officials to clarify what could be supplied. The two men recalled their earlier encounters during Prince Faisal's hospitalization in New York and after Kennedy's Senate speech supporting negotiations for Algerian independence. ³