Biden says US will remain an active partner in the Middle East

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday the United States would remain an active, engaged partner in the Middle East and urged leaders gathered at an Arab summit to see human rights as a powerful force of economic and social change.

"The United States is invested in building a positive future of the region, in partnership with all of you - and the United States is not going anywhere," Biden told the Arab leaders in a speech to kick off the summit.

Biden is seeking to start a new chapter in U.S. involvement in the Middle East, hoping to move past US military conflicts and instead push for a region that respects individual nations' domestic affairs but seeks economic integration and shared defences amid concerns over Iran.

Biden, on his first Middle East trip as president, has focused on Saturday's planned summit with six Gulf states and Egypt, Jordan and Iraq while downplaying a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.