A day earlier, the crown prince met in Dallas, Texas, with US vice president Dick Cheney, according to US officials, who declined to provide further details except to say that Cheney would also attend the meeting.

     Bush and his guest, meeting for the second time on Bush's prairie chapel estate, would also discuss the war on terrorism at a time when Riyadh has been cracking down on suspected al-Qaeda extremists, US officials said.

     The president and the crown prince, the kingdom's de facto ruler, would also talk about Bush's "efforts to promote democratic reform" in the Middle East, White House spokesman Scott Mcclellan told reporters.