Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, was honored on Friday with the George Tenet Medal, provided by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States in recognition of the outstanding intelligence work in combating terror and his immense contributions in achieving global peace and security. CIA Director Mike Pompeo decorated the Crown Prince with the medal during a reception in Riyadh. Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and several high-ranking officials were present on the occasion. The Crown Prince and Pompeo also discussed issues of mutual concern and ways to further enhance them, especially in the security and counterterrorism fields, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Speaking to reporters after receiving the honor, the Crown Prince said that this medal is the fruit of efforts and directives of the Saudi leadership, headed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, as well as the bravery of security men and cooperation of all sections of the Saudi society. He said that Islam and other heavenly regions have nothing to do with the devilish acts of the terrorist groups. "Saudi Arabia rejects and denounces strongly terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We are determined to counter extremism and terrorism and were successful in foiling terrorist plots, through preemptive operations, and these included even plots targeting some friendly states," he said while underlining the need for joint global efforts at the security, intellectual, financial, media and military levels, to stamp out the scourge of terror. Referring to the Saudi-US relations, the Crown Prince said that nobody would succeed in creating friction in the historic and strategic relations between the Kingdom and US.
