In a major boost to US-Saudi ties, President Donald Trump secured a $600 billion investment pledge from Riyadh and agreed on a $142 billion arms deal — touted as Washington’s largest-ever defence agreement
Trump is on a three-nation tour that began in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. He will also be travelling to United Arab Emirates and Qatar. It is the first major foreign trip of his second term.
Trump emerged from Air Force One punching in the air as he was welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two later signed a sweeping agreement in Riyadh covering energy, defence, mining, and other sectors.
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As part of the visit, Trump also finalised a nearly $142 billion arms package for Saudi Arabia, which the White House described as the largest defence cooperation deal in US history.
The package includes contracts with over a dozen American defence firms in key areas such as air and missile defence, aerospace, maritime security, and military communications.
“Today we hope for investment opportunities worth $600 billion, including deals worth $300 billion that were signed during this forum,” Reuters quoted the Saudi crown prince as saying in a speech during a US-Saudi Investment Forum session held in Riyadh on the occasion of Trump’s visit.
“We will work in the coming months on the second phase to complete deals and raise it to $1 trillion,” he added.
Saudi Arabia ranks among the top buyers of US weaponry. In April, Reuters reported that Washington was preparing to offer the kingdom an arms package exceeding $100 billion in value.
“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying during a meeting with the crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.
The US and Saudi Arabia have held talks on Riyadh’s possible acquisition of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets, Reuters quoted sources familiar with the discussions, a deal long sought by the kingdom. However, it remains unclear if the F-35s are part of the package announced Tuesday.
President Trump, joined by US business leaders including Elon Musk, will continue his Gulf tour with stops in Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
Interestingly, Israel is not on the itinerary, prompting speculation about its current standing in US foreign policy priorities. The focus of Trump’s visit is centered on economic investment rather than regional security.
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“While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have expanded and multiplied many, many times over,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih told the investment forum.
“As a result … when Saudis and Americans join forces very good things happen, more often than not great things happen when those joint ventures happen,” he said before Trump’s arrival.
Trump told the investment forum that relations with Saudi Arabia will be even stronger.
He was shown speaking with Riyadh’s sovereign wealth fund governor Yaser al-Rumayyan, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, and Falih as he toured a hall that showed off models for the kingdom’s flashy, multi-billion-dollar development