The United States and Saudi Arabia signed 18 agreements and memoranda in fields including energy, communications, space and healthcare during a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden, Saudi state TV channel al-Ekhbariya reported.

The agreements include deals with U.S. aerospace and defense firms Boeing and Raytheon, as well as healthcare companies Medtronic, Digital Diagnostics and IQVIA, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

There were also agreements in 5G and 6G technologies, clean energy projects, civil nuclear energy and uranium, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

U.S. President Joe Biden was on his first state visit to the kingdom, where he met with top Saudi officials to review the kingdom's defensive needs and the importance of global energy security.

In a statement after the meetings, Biden welcomed Saudi Arabia's fresh signing of the NASA-led Artemis Accords, an outer space exploration treaty, saying the United States "reaffirms its commitment to the responsible, peaceful, and sustainable exploration and use of outer space."

The U.S. president praised the role the kingdom played in supporting the UN cease-fire efforts in Yemen.

The visit in Saudi Arabia is the last destination of Biden's first Middle East tour as the U.S. president. The diplomatic tour, which started on Wednesday and is expected to end on Saturday, also covered Israel and the West Bank.

Biden will also attend a joint summit on Saturday with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as the king of Jordan, the president of Egypt, and the prime minister of Iraq.

(With input from agencies)