The United States and Saudi Arabia sealed investment commitments valued at 600 billion dollars on Tuesday, including arms contracts worth around 142 billion dollars, "the largest commercial agreement in history" in this area according to the White House.
Donald Trump assumed the signing of these agreements during a symbolic visit to Saudi Arabia where he was received at the airport by the Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman.
Excluding the visit to the Vatican to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, this is Trump’s first official trip abroad since returning to power in January and symbolizes, according to his office, “a new golden era of alliance” between the two countries.
What is Trump looking for on this tour to the Middle East?
One of the main pillars of this new framework of relations focuses on defense and security and will benefit more than a dozen American companies. In addition to future contracts for the sale of “cutting-edge military equipment,” on which the White House has not provided details, the United States also plans to collaborate in training local forces.
“The defense relationship with Saudi Arabia is stronger than ever under President Trump’s leadership,” highlighted the White House, which is confident that Riyadh can continue to be the leading international partner in this area, with active fronts already valued at over 129 billion dollars.
The goal of both countries also includes strengthening ties in the cultural, educational, or scientific fields, and in fact, the list of commitments outlined by Washington also includes an agreement between the special agencies of the United States and Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi firm DataVolt will also invest 20 billion euros in the development of artificial intelligence data centers and energy infrastructure in the United States, according to documents signed by Trump and Bin Salman during a symbolic ceremony.
Controversial visit of Trump to Qatar
After his stop in Saudi Arabia, Trump will head to Qatar amid the controversy sparked by the fact that the president has accepted a luxury Boeing 747-800 aircraft that will now be used as one of the Air Force 1, the presidential planes. This has even led to criticism from some of the president’s allies.
The criticisms range from accepting gifts from a foreign country, the gift being from Qatar, and the security risks for a presidential plane that was not designed under the supervision of the Secret Service.