US President Donald Trump secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to invest in the United States after the oil power accorded him a gala welcome at the start of a tour of Gulf states.
Trump punched the air as he emerged from Air Force One to be greeted by Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who later signed an agreement with the president in Riyadh on energy, defense, mining and other areas.
The US agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to a White House fact sheet that called it “the largest defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.
The agreement covers deals with more than a dozen U.S. defense companies in areas including air and missile defense, air force and space advancement, maritime security and communications, the fact sheet said.
“Today we hope for investment opportunities worth $600 billion, including deals worth $300 billion that were signed during this forum,” the Saudi crown prince said in a speech during a U.S.-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 said.
Trump, who was accompanied by U.S. business leaders including billionaire Elon Musk, will go on from Riyadh to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
He has not scheduled a stop in ‘Israel’, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington’s priorities, and the focus of the trip is on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East.
“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.
Source: Reuters
