Caption:Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes US President Donald Trump [Bandar al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AFP]
US President Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia, in what will be the first stop of a three-day tour that will also see him visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, has greeted Trump upon arrival in Riyadh.
The White House says Trump is making a “historic return to the Middle East”, the first official state visit of his second presidency, where he will concentrate on “strengthening ties“.
Trump is expected to focus on securing major financial investments for the United States and making diplomatic inroads on regional issues, including a Gaza ceasefire and Saudi Arabia-Israel normalisation talks.
In Saudi Arabia, his first stop, Trump is hoping to secure a $1 trillion investment in US industry from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, upping the crown prince’s earlier investment pledge of $600bn.
Gulf leaders likely to drive home message that ‘Arab world does not take Gaza lightly’
Trump’s trip to the Gulf is likely to show him that “the Arab world does not take Gaza lightly” and push him to explore alternative ways to end the 19-month war, says Sultan Barakat, senior professor in public policy at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
Working with Arab states on Gaza could not only help end the bloodshed, but bring “massive economic benefits” that appeal to Trump, according to Barakat.
If Trump wants to be a peacemaker, he says, “this is one of the issues he’s got to tackle”.
“He cannot continue talking about being the dealmaker, the peacemaker in their world with the blood in Gaza continuing to spill.”
Saudi Arabia’s finance minister Al-Jadaan touts economic progress
Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan has touted the kingdom’s economic progress in recent years on the back of structural reforms.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum as Trump began his tour of the Middle East, al-Jadaan pointed to improvements across a range of metrics, including raising private investment as a percentage of gross domestic product from 16 percent to 32 percent, and lifting women’s employment rate from 17 percent to 36 percent.
“Saudi Arabia currently has the lowest unemployment rate in the country’s history with about 3.5 percent, and among the nationals the kingdom achieved its target for Vision 2030 with the rate being 7 percent,” al-Jadaan said at the event.
Eric Trump says Gulf leaders have ‘true friend’ in White House
The US president’s son, who serves as vice-president of the Trump Organization, has spoken to Saudi Arabia’s Asharq al-Awsat newspaper about his father’s trip to the Gulf, which he says delivers a “clear message” that the region is a “key partner in global security”.
“The era of peace will return, and the commander-in-chief of the US armed forces will be in Washington to help safeguard the Gulf’s security and stand by its people – because he knows them well and believes in the importance of their friendship,” said Eric Trump.
He added that his father has “exceptional relationships” with leaders in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar – all stops on his ongoing Gulf tour.
“I know some of these leaders personally, and I’m fully aware that the president trusts, respects and considers them true friends,” Eric Trump said.
Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE and Qatar are all sites where the Trump Organization is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.
The Royal Court is where Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed are expected to finalise some of their major agreements, to be announced later today.
Topping the agenda of course is the trade agreement. Crown Prince Mohammed has said in the past that his country is going to invest $600bn in the US. Trump wants Saudi Arabia to invest $1 trillion. I think they are trying to work out the details of how much Saudi Arabia is going to commit.
They will then attend a gathering of Saudi and US investors later in the day. This is where we’re expecting Trump to address the media.
Of course politics is also going to be on the agenda. Saudi officials are going to talk about Gaza, stability and peace in the Middle East, as well as Syria.
The challenges are massive and both the US and Saudi Arabia understand that to be able to move forward they have to have a united front. This explains why they are inviting GCC leaders to join the trip.
Gulf leaders likely to drive home message that ‘Arab world does not take Gaza lightly’
Trump’s trip to the Gulf is likely to show him that “the Arab world does not take Gaza lightly” and push him to explore alternative ways to end the 19-month war, says Sultan Barakat, senior professor in public policy at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
Working with Arab states on Gaza could not only help end the bloodshed, but bring “massive economic benefits” that appeal to Trump, according to Barakat.
If Trump wants to be a peacemaker, he says, “this is one of the issues he’s got to tackle”.
“He cannot continue talking about being the dealmaker, the peacemaker in the world with the blood in Gaza continuing to spill.”
Saudi Arabia’s finance minister Al-Jadaan touts economic progress
Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan has touted the kingdom’s economic progress in recent years on the back of structural reforms.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum as Trump began his tour of the Middle East, al-Jadaan pointed to improvements across a range of metrics, including raising private investment as a percentage of gross domestic product from 16 percent to 32 percent, and lifting women’s employment rate from 17 percent to 36 percent.
“Saudi Arabia currently has the lowest unemployment rate in the country’s history with about 3.5 percent, and among the nationals the kingdom achieved its target for Vision 2030 with the rate being 7 percent,” al-Jadaan said at the event.
Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance Mohammed bin
Where have US presidents gone for their first foreign trip?
As in his first term, Trump is choosing Saudi Arabia for his first foreign visit as president.
Eric Trump says Gulf leaders have ‘true friend’ in White House
The US president’s son, who serves as vice-president of the Trump Organization, has spoken to Saudi Arabia’s Asharq al-Awsat newspaper about his father’s trip to the Gulf, which he says delivers a “clear message” that the region is a “key partner in global security”.
“The era of peace will return, and the commander-in-chief of the US armed forces will be in Washington to help safeguard the Gulf’s security and stand by its people – because he knows them well and believes in the importance of their friendship,” said Eric Trump.
He added that his father has “exceptional relationships” with leaders in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar – all stops on his ongoing Gulf tour.
“I know some of these leaders personally, and I’m fully aware that the president trusts, respects and considers them true friends,” Eric Trump said.
Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE and Qatar are all sites where the Trump Organization is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.
White House posts video of Saudi fighter jets escorting Air Force One
The White House has shared a video of Saudi F-15 fighter jets providing an “honorary escort” to Air Force One before Trump’s arrival.
Elon Musk greets Trump and MBS
One by one, the Saudi dignitaries and officials have lined up to greet Trump.
This is followed by the US officials and business leaders also doing the same with MBS.
There’s usually a brief exchange between them – except when it’s billionaire Elon Musk’s turn, who spends slightly more time speaking to the two leaders, in an encounter full of smiles, handshakes and nods of appreciation.
Saudi Arabia, US both understand gepolitical ‘challenges.
The Royal Court is where Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed are expected to finalise some of their major agreements, to be announced later today.
Topping the agenda of course is the trade agreement. Crown Prince Mohammed has said in the past that his country is going to invest $600bn in the US. Trump wants Saudi Arabia to invest $1 trillion. I think they are trying to work out the details of how much Saudi Arabia is going to commit.
They will then attend a gathering of Saudi and US investors later in the day. This is where we’re expecting Trump to address the media.
Of course politics is also going to be on the agenda. Saudi officials are going to talk about Gaza, stability and peace in the Middle East, as well as Syria.
The challenges are massive and both the US and Saudi Arabia understand that to be able to move forward they have to have a united front. This explains why they are inviting GCC leaders to join talks tomorrow.
Trump ‘loves this sort of pomp’
We know that. We know that it’s one of the ways leaders in the past, in his first term, wooed him.
He went for a state visit to the United Kingdom with the late queen there. French President Emmanuel Macron invited him to Bastille Day. He loves these sorts of events.
He will have loved arriving, as it happened moments ago, in the car known as “The Beast”, surrounded by Saudi outriders on horseback accompanying him there.
And I think he also likes this region because it fits the Donald Trump world view: It’s big and it’s bold, and it’s about business and that business is things like energy and property.
And for the New York real estate developer, this is a place, I think, that he feels comfortable. We know that he knows the Saudi crown prince from his first term. They apparently get on well.
– Agencies reports
