Trump hosts Saudi Crown Prince at White House as Riyadh pledges up to $1 trillion in US investment – Firstpost

President Donald Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday, as the kingdom’s de facto ruler seeks to strengthen his global standing and deepen strategic ties with Washington following the 2018 murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In his opening remarks, Trump said that Saudi Arabia has agreed to invest $600 billion in America.

“This number may increase slightly further,” Guardian He was quoted as saying. “But I don’t know, we’ll see,” he said.

Trump denied he had any conflict of interest in his negotiations with the crown prince, after his sons signed a major real estate deal in that country.

“I have nothing to do with the family business. I have left, and… I have devoted 100 percent of my energy. My family is fine with what they do. They do business everywhere.” AFP He quoted him, referring to his sons, who now manage the Trump Organization, and have signed a number of high-profile deals since their father returned to power.

Bin Salman said Saudi Arabia “believes in America’s future” and plans to increase its investment commitment in the United States to approximately $1 trillion.

murder in 2018 Washington Post Columnist Jamal Khashoggi, bin Salman, said it was a “huge mistake”.

Defending Crown Prince Mohammed over the Khashoggi killing, Trump described the journalist as “extremely controversial”, adding, “A lot of people didn’t like the gentleman you’re talking about. Whether you like them or not, things happen, but he [the prince] Didn’t know anything about it.”

Prince Mohammed said of the killing by Saudi agents – “It’s painful and it’s a big mistake, and we’re doing our best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Asked about normalizing relations with Israel, Prince Mohammed said his country wanted to improve relations with Israel through President Trump’s Abraham Accords, but first needed a “clear path” to a Palestinian state.

“We want to be part of the Abraham Accords. But we also want to make sure that we secure a clear path to a two-state solution,” the prince said with Trump in the Oval Office.

“We are going to work on this to make sure we create the right conditions as quickly as possible,” he said.

Earlier, marking his first visit to the White House in more than seven years, the crown prince was given a ceremonial welcome on the South Lawn, where Trump presided over a display that included a military honor guard, a cannon salute and a flyover by US warplanes, according to reports. Reuters.

The meeting highlighted the partnership that Trump has prioritized in his second term, linking the world’s largest economy with its top oil exporter.

It also shows that international outrage over Khashoggi’s killing – which US intelligence said the Crown Prince approved – has gradually subsided. Bin Salman has denied ordering the operation but has accepted responsibility as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia.

The warm welcome in Washington marks a significant change in diplomatic tensions that have arisen since the journalist’s death.

Trump welcomed the Crown Prince with a handshake and a smile as he stepped onto the red carpet surrounded by rows of military personnel. A mounted US Army honor guard escorted the convoy up South Drive, and the two leaders stopped to look at the fighter planes in the sky before going inside for talks.

Before sitting down for talks, the two leaders spoke cordially and Trump gave Bin Salman a tour of the president’s photographs on the wall outside the Oval Office.

What’s on the agenda?

During a full day of White House diplomacy, after meeting with President Trump at the White House, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will attend a Cabinet Room luncheon and conclude the visit with a formal black-tie dinner – an event that mirrors many of the elements of a state visit. As soon as the preparations began, American and Saudi flags were hung on the lampposts outside the White House.

according to reuters The report cited a senior US administration official as saying Trump aims to deliver on a $600 billion Saudi investment promise announced during his visit to the kingdom in May, with dozens of targeted projects expected to be unveiled.

The official said the two sides were set to finalize agreements on Tuesday covering defense sales, expanded civilian nuclear cooperation and a Saudi investment of billions of dollars in US artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Trump also signaled a major policy shift, telling reporters on Monday that “we will sell F-35s to the Saudis,” which has requested 48 of the advanced fighters. If approved, it would be the first US sale of F-35s to the kingdom – a move that could reshape the Middle East’s military balance and test Washington’s commitment to preserving Israel’s “qualitative military edge”, as Israel is the only country in the region currently operating the aircraft.

Beyond defense deals, the Crown Prince is seeking new US security guarantees.

Analysts expect Trump to issue an executive order outlining a defense arrangement similar to the one recently extended to Qatar, though still short of the formal, NATO-style treaty that Riyadh originally sought.

eye on china

Dennis Ross, a former US Middle East negotiator who is now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank, said Trump wants to develop a multidimensional relationship that keeps Saudi Arabia away from China’s territory.

“President Trump believes all of these steps tie the Saudis to us on a range of issues, from security to the finance-AI-energy nexus. He wants them to be tied to us on these issues, not China.” reuters Ross is quoted as saying.

Trump is expected to keep up pressure on Bin Salman to rejoin Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel.

The Saudis have been reluctant to take such a major step without a clear path to Palestinian statehood, a goal that has been pushed back by the region’s conflict with the Gaza War.

Trump reached the Abraham Accords between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan during his first term in office in 2020. In recent weeks, Kazakhstan agreed to join.

But Trump has always seen Saudi Arabia as a pivot to join the Abraham Accords to achieve broader Middle East peace.

“It’s very important to him that we rejoin the Abraham Accords during his tenure, and that’s why he’s increasing the pressure on it,” the senior White House official said.

Former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Middle East Jonathan Panikoff said Trump would urge bin Salman to move toward normalizing relations with Israel, but any lack of progress there was unlikely to hinder reaching a new US-Saudi security agreement.

“President Trump’s willingness to invest in the US, which the Crown Prince previously promised, could help soften the ground for expanding defense ties, even as the President remains determined to pursue Israeli-Saudi normalization,” said Panikoff, who is now at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.

with inputs from agencies