President Trump spoke Tuesday at a US-Saudi investment summit, where the White House announced a $600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia, including what it called the “largest defense sales agreement in history.”
In Saudi Arabia, the president praised the country as an example for the Middle East, claiming it has achieved a “modern miracle the Arabian way,” criticizing “western intervention” efforts, and blasting former President Joe Biden.
Mr. Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, announced a number of economic and defense agreements, indicating Mr. Trump’s desire to strengthen US-Saudi relations, despite long-standing concerns raised by State Department reports and human rights organizations about the country’s restrictions on civil liberties, political rights, and women’s rights. The Saudis hosted a dinner in Dir’iyah to honor Mr. Trump.
Speaking at the Saudi-US Investment Forum, the president stated that it is a “tremendous honor” to be invited back to Saudi Arabia, where he made his first foreign trip in 2017, and referred to bin Salman as a “friend.” U.S. intelligence agencies believed bin Salman ordered the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, but the US determined that he is immune because of his position as Saudi prime minister.
“The U.S.-Saudi relationship has been a bedrock of security and prosperity,” President Trump stated on Tuesday. “Today, we reaffirmed this important bond, and we take the next steps to make our relationship closer, stronger and more powerful than ever before.”
Mr. Trump also has personal business ties with Saudi Arabia. Last year, the Trump Organization announced plans to build a Trump Tower in Jeddah, a major Saudi city on the Red Sea. Eric Trump, the president’s son and the Trump Organization’s executive vice president, told Reuters that the company is also planning a Trump-branded property in Riyadh.
Mr. Trump stated that Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, “is becoming not just a seat of government, but a major business, cultural, and high-tech capital of the entire world.”
“It’s crucial for the wider world to know this great transformation has not come from western intervention or flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs, no,” said Mr. Putin.
“The gleaming marbles of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation builders, neocons or liberal nonprofits like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Kabul, Baghdad, so many other cities,” said Mr. Obama.
“Instead, the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought about by the region’s own people. In the end, the so-called nation builders destroyed far more nations than they built, and the interventionalists intervened in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.
“In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins,” the chief executive stated.
The president and crown prince signed agreements for judicial cooperation between Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Justice and the United States Department of Justice, coordination between the Pentagon and Saudi Ministry of Defense for the modernization and development of Saudi armed forces capabilities, and an international partnership program between the Saudi Ministry of Interior and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The agreement package includes “extensive training and support to build the capacity of the Saudi armed forces, including enhancement of Saudi service academies and military medical services,” according to the White House. It also includes billions of dollars of investment in data centers in the United States.
Mr. Trump also stated on Tuesday that he intends to normalize relations and lift sanctions against Syria’s new government in order to provide the country with “a chance at peace.”
“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Mr. Trump said about Syria. “I wish you good luck, Syria. “Show us something special.”
The president arrived in Saudi Arabia earlier Tuesday, marking the start of his four-day trip to the Middle East. This is his first trip in his second term.
During his first term in the White House, the president also visited Saudi Arabia before any other country, breaking with tradition by visiting the United Kingdom, one of the United States’ strongest allies.
After Air Force One was escorted into landing by Saudi fighter jets, the crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, greeted Mr. Trump on the tarmac at Riyadh International Airport.
Following a coffee ceremony, Trump proceeded to the Royal Court, where he and bin Salman descended a lavender carpet as trumpets sounded to announce the president’s arrival.
Following the arrival ceremony, the president attended delegation and bilateral meetings.
Mr. Trump praised the Crown Prince during their bilateral meeting, describing him as “wise beyond his years.” The president also stated that the Saudi prince is considering purchasing $600 billion in military equipment, but joked that it could cost $1 trillion.
The two leaders also had a business lunch with notable CEOs like Elon Musk, Larry Fink, and Stephen Schwarzman. Mr. Trump stated that the business leaders are expected to leave the visit “with a lot of checks.”
Saudi Arabia holds significant diplomatic importance for the Trump administration, particularly in light of ongoing efforts to reach an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program and the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
The president and crown prince held private talks earlier Tuesday, which were expected to cover a wide range of issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, the war in Gaza, and keeping oil prices under control.
However, the visit was also business-related, as the president sought to strengthen ties with his Middle Eastern partner. According to multiple sources familiar with the event, Mr. Trump will be joined at the investment summit by high-profile business leaders such as Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Palantir’s Alex Karp, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Franklin Templeton Investments’ Jenny Johnson, Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, BDT & MSD Partners’ Dina Powell McCormick, and Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman.
Later this week, Mr. Trump will visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar has offered to donate a jumbo jet to Mr. Trump for exclusive use as a presidential plane.
Mr. Trump defended accepting the plane gift, saying on Monday, “I could be a stupid person and say, oh no, we don’t want a free plane.”
Later Tuesday, at 2:51 a.m. the next day in Saudi Arabia, the president posted again on Truth Social about the Boeing 747 from Qatar.
“It is a gift from a nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended over many years. It will be used by our government as a temporary Air Force One until our new Boeings, which are being delivered late, arrive,” he wrote.