US President Trump clinches historic $600 billion deal with Saudi Arabia in first day of Gulf tour
US President Donald Trump managed to secure a $600 billion investment commitment from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, amid his tour of three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations till May 16, the first visit of his second term at Washington.
Striking a victory pose as he emerged from Air Force One, Trump's second visit to the largest GCC nation began with a red carpet welcome that saw Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, warmly greeting his American guest.
He was accompanied by Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, as well as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who joined him as he lunched with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, often called MbS, for short.
The two leaders later signed historic agreements—worth a whopping $600 billion—spanning energy, defence, mining and other areas, out of which $142 billion went into a defence agreement that the US remarked was the largest defence sales agreement between the two nations.
"I really believe we like each other a lot," Trump had said, early into the meeting.
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The defence discussions included the Kingdom's potential purchase of Lockheed F-35 jets, a model of military aircraft that Saudi Arabia is long thought to have been interested in, according to a Reuters report, which cited two unnamed sources. However, the report added that it was not immediately clear if the aircraft were a part of the $142 billion defence deal.
"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 a US-Saudi investment forum, just before Trump's arrival.
"When Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen—more often than not great things happen when those joint ventures happen," he added.
The two nations have maintained strong, fulfilling ties for decades, based on an ironclad arrangement in which Saudi Arabia contributes oil and America provides security.
Trump called MbS a friend and said that they shared a good relationship, adding that Saudi investments would help create jobs in the US, as per a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The remainder of the tour involves scheduled visits to Qatar on Wednesday, followed by the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, with Washington controversially deciding to omit a visit to Israel.
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