Energy Secretary Rick Perry told reporters in September he informed the Saudis that being “perceived as very, very strong on non-proliferation was a most important message, globally.” | AP Photo/Petr David Josek Foreign Policy Perry planning another trip to Saudi Arabia

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Tuesday he is planning to make another trip to Saudi Arabia, just weeks after relations between the U.S. and the kingdom were roiled because of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

“I’m headed to the Middle East later here — to Qatar and then to the Kingdom — so speaking of interesting, these are interesting times,” Perry told the National Petroleum Council, a group of current and former industry executives that advises the Energy Department. “But there’s never been a more interesting time from my perspective to be in the oil and gas business.”


Perry didn’t disclose the reason for his trip, but he has pushed for the country to use U.S. companies to develop its nuclear energy industry since a visit there last year when he met with Saudi officials. Earlier this year in Texas, he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. intelligence agencies say ordered Khashoggi's killing.

Perry has said those talks were not proceeding quickly and had slowed over non-proliferation issues. He told reporters in September he informed the Saudis that being “perceived as very, very strong on non-proliferation was a most important message, globally.”

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The Energy Department declined to provide additional details about the upcoming trip other than to say he would "engage with his energy counterparts in the region."

Perry, his advisers and the nuclear industry have spent more than a year trying to persuade Saudi Arabia to hire U.S. businesses to build two reactors, the initial phase of the Saudis' $80 billion plan to erect as many as 16 reactors in the coming decades.

President Donald Trump has said that he is unsure whether the crown prince was involved in ordering Khashoggi’s murder, and that he stands by the United States’ partnership with the Saudis. Trump spoke briefly with bin Salman on Friday on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

Last week, the Senate delivered a rebuked the Trump administration, voting overwhelmingly to advance a measure yanking U.S. support for Saudi-backed forces at war in Yemen.