MUS President Donald Trump is currently in Saudi Arabia, in his the first visit of a three-day tour that will also see him visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, has received Trump upon arrival in Riyadh.
The White House says Trump is making a “historic return to the Middle East”, the first official state visit of his second presidency, where he will concentrate on “strengthening ties”
He would focus on securing major financial investments for the United States and making diplomatic inroads on regional issues, including a Gaza ceasefire and Saudi Arabia-Israel normalisation talks.
In Saudi Arabia, his first stop, Trump is hoping to secure a $1 trillion investment in US industry from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, upping the crown prince’s earlier investment pledge of $600bn.
The Royal Court is where Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed are meeting at the Royal Court where they reach some of their major agreements, to be announced later today.
Both leader will discuss the trade agreement. Crown Prince Mohammed has said in the past that his country is going to invest $600bn in the US. Trump wants Saudi Arabia to invest $1 trillion. I think they are trying to work out the details of how much Saudi Arabia is going to commit.
They will then attend a gathering of Saudi and US investors later in the day. This is where we’re expecting Trump to address the media.
Of course politics is also going to be on the agenda. Saudi officials are going to talk about Gaza, stability and peace in the Middle East, as well as Syria.
The challenges are massive and both the US and Saudi Arabia understand that to be able to move forward they have to have a united front. This explains why they are inviting GCC leaders to join talks tomorrow.
ALJAZEERA
