The American motorist is hoping that President George W. Bush will focus on getting Saudi Arabia to boost oil production when he meets Crown Prince Abdullah at his Texas ranch on Monday, but the kingdom's efforts at internal reform and the “war on terror” are more likely to eclipse any discussion of prices at US pumps.

Their first meeting in three years may not be easy. Arab diplomats in Washington believe that US-Saudi relations, though still strained, have survived a difficult passage since al-Qaeda's September 11 2001 attacks.