Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday promised billions of dollars in deals with the United States from defence to artificial intelligence as it threw a lavish welcome for President Donald Trump on the first state visit of his second term.
The White House said that Saudi Arabia would buy nearly $142 billion in weapons in what it described as the largest-ever weapons deal, although Trump in his first term trumpeted a larger, longer-term figure.
The White House said that Saudi company DataVolt will invest $20 billion in artificial intelligence-related sites in the United States, while tech firms including Google will invest in both countries — welcome news for Saudi Arabia which has faced restrictions on US advanced technology.
The US leader will also visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, fellow oil-rich Arab monarchies with long-standing ties to the United States — and to Trump.
In choosing Saudi Arabia for his first state visit, as he did in his previous term, the 78-year-old billionaire was again bypassing traditional presidential stops among Western allies, some of which have been unnerved by his norms-shattering diplomacy.
Saudis seek image change
Trump’s embrace of the Saudis contrasts with a more hesitant initial approach by former president Joe Biden, who had vowed to punish the crown prince after US intelligence found that he ordered the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Since Khashoggi’s gruesome killing, the crown prince has worked aggressively to change Saudi Arabia’s image, from easing restrictions on women to diversifying from oil to new areas such as artificial intelligence.
“Saudi Arabia has proved the critics totally wrong,” Trump said at an investment forum as the crown prince, at his constant side throughout the day, beamed.
Complimenting the gleaming skyscrapers in the desert capital, Trump said: “The transformation that has occurred under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed has been truly extraordinary.”
“I’ve never seen anything at that scale happen before,” he said.
Trump announced, in response to appeals from the crown prince and Turkey but breaking with ally Israel, that he would ease US sanctions on Syria, ruled by Islamists since the toppling of the iron-fisted Bashar al-Assad in December.
An ultimate prize, pushed both by Trump and Biden, has been to persuade Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s holiest sites, to take the landmark step of recognising Israel.
Trump called normalisation with Israel “my fervent hope and wish, and even my dream”.
“You’ll do it in your own time, and that’s what I want, that’s what you want,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has said it cannot follow the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which all normalised relations with Israel during Trump’s first term, without the establishment of a Palestinian state.
As Trump was in the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the army would enter Gaza again “with full force” against Hamas militants, more than two months after Israel cut off all food and other supplies.
The United States, which has quietly been frustrated with Israel, negotiated directly with Hamas to secure the release of a hostage with US citizenship, Edan Alexander, to whom Trump spoke by telephone Tuesday.
Lavish plane
Trump heads on Wednesday to Qatar, which has offered a luxury Boeing aircraft for Trump to refurbish as Air Force One and then keep after he leaves the White House.
Trump’s Democratic rivals have called the gift blatant corruption. Trump has hit back that the deal was “very public and transparent”.
Jon Alterman, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that for Trump, the Gulf “is his happy place”.
The leaders will “flatter him and not criticise him. And they’ll treat his family members as past and future business partners,” he said.
Trump set to meet Syrian leader ahead of Qatar visit
Trump will also meet with leaders and representatives from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
The diplomatic sitdowns followed a day dedicated to sealing billions of dollars in commercial agreements, with the United States and Saudi Arabia signing a raft of deals involving energy, AI, weapons and tech.
The White House said that Riyadh would purchase nearly $142 billion in arms in what it described as the largest-ever weapons deal.
Washington said that Saudi company DataVolt was set to pour $20 billion in artificial intelligence-related projects in the United States.
Tech companies including Google will also invest in both countries — likely welcome news for Saudi Arabia which has long faced restrictions securing advanced American technology.
Qatar controversy
Trump was set to head to Doha around midday.
The tiny Gulf country that is home to a sprawling US air base has also served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas on ending the devastating war in Gaza.
But the stop has largely been muddled by controversy following news that Trump planned on accepting a $400 million luxury plane as a gift from Qatar.
The Boeing airplane would serve as a new, more modern presidential jet and then be put to Trump’s personal use once he leaves the White House.
The move raises huge constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One.
Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, on Tuesday vowed to hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over the move.
The visit to Qatar comes just days after Washington negotiated directly with Hamas to secure the release of a hostage with US citizenship, Edan Alexander.
Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, hammered out a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that came into effect on January 19 — a day before Trump’s inauguration — but failed to end the war.
The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to chart a path forward. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip, blocked aid and pledged to conquer the territory.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days, saying: “There will be no situation where we stop the war.”
Trump was set to finish his tour of the Gulf with a final stop in Abu Dhabi later in the week.
