April 05, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1428

RIYADH, April 4: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met King Abdullah on Wednesday after arriving in key regional ally Saudi Arabia where she was due to visit the kingdom's all-male Shura (consultative) Council.

Pelosi, who arrived in Riyadh from Syria on the latest leg of Middle East tour, met the Saudi monarch at his ranch in Janadriyah, some 40 kilometres northeast of the capital, the official SPA news agency reported.

It did not give details about the talks, which were followed by dinner.

The leading US Democrat had earlier been greeted in Riyadh by the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubair.

She was due to meet on Thursday members of the Shura Council, a 150-strong advisory body appointed by the king.

Pelosi, who is expected to be received by speaker Saleh bin Humaid, will not address a plenary session of the council as some foreign leaders have done over the past year, but will have lunch with a group of members.—AFP