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The President of the United States, Donald Trump, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the start of a four-day visit to the wealthy Gulf region, focusing more on economic deals and regional security matters.
These include the war in Gaza and talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
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With a who is who of powerful American business leaders in tow, Mr Trump is visiting Riyadh, site of a Saudi-US Investment Forum, before going to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington’s priorities.
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“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 said as he opened the forum.
“As a result, when Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen, more often than not, great things happen when those joint ventures happen,” he said before Mr Trump’s arrival.
Mr Trump is hoping to secure trillions of dollars of investments from the Gulf oil producers.
Saudi Arabia had pledged $600 billion but Mr Trump has said he wants $1 trillion from the kingdom, one of Washington’s most important allies.
The Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum began with a video showing soaring eagles and falcons and celebrating the long history between the United States and the kingdom.
The visit brought together many dignitaries, including Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan.
Speaking at a forum panel as Trump touched down in Riyadh, Mr Fink said he had travelled to Saudi Arabia more than 65 times over 20 years.
While the kingdom had been a follower when he first started visiting, it was now “taking control” and broadening its economy out of its oil base, he said.
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After landing, Mr Trump punched the air when he caught sight of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, before shaking hands with the de facto leader.
MBS has focused on diversifying the kingdom’s economy in a major reform programme dubbed Vision 2030 that includes “Giga-projects” such as NEOM, a futuristic city the size of Belgium.
The kingdom has had to scale back some of its lofty ambitions due to rising costs and falling oil prices.
Joining Mr Trump for lunch with MBS are top US businessmen including billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
(Reuters/NAN)
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