US President Donald Trump announced he is likely to make his first overseas trip to Saudi Arabia to finalize a deal for Riyadh to invest more than $1 trillion in the US economy, including purchases of American military equipment.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the visit would probably take place within the next six weeks. He recalled that his first foreign trip during his 2017 presidency was also to Riyadh, where Saudi investments worth $350 billion were unveiled at the time.
“This time, they’ve gotten richer, we’ve all gotten older,” Trump remarked. He said the Saudis had agreed to invest $1 trillion over four years in American companies, including military hardware, at his request.
“I’m going there, and I have a great relationship with them — they’ve been very nice,” Trump added.
Saudi Arabia’s role in US foreign policy has been growing. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East special envoy, told reporters that Saudi Arabia would host a US-Ukraine meeting next week to discuss a possible ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
In February, Trump facilitated talks between officials from the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf to resolve their ongoing dispute.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East adviser, launched a private equity firm that secured $2 billion in Saudi investments after Trump left office.
Trump has recently highlighted a series of major investment announcements in the US economy, including commitments from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Apple.
