U.S. President Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of an official tour to wealthy Gulf countries. The purpose of Trump’s trip to Gulf countries is to seek business and investment opportunities from Arab nations. It is not expected that he will pay much attention to the security challenges facing the Middle East during this trip. Trump hopes to secure investments worth trillions of U.S. dollars from Gulf countries during the tour.
After Saudi Arabia, Trump is scheduled to visit Qatar next. That will be on May 14th. Then he will travel to the United Arab Emirates. That will also be on May 14th. Trump’s Gulf tour does not include a visit to Israel, where Palestinians in Gaza are facing genocide. As such, analysts studying the region continue to raise questions about the importance the U.S., Israel’s biggest supporter, gives to that country.
Speaking at the Saudi-US Investment Forum being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said that the closest relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. is in the energy sector. He said that business and investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia have now multiplied many times over. He stated that the results of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. working together are very successful.
Meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump said that the Crown Prince is his friend and that they have a close relationship. Recalling his trip to Saudi Arabia in 2017, Trump said that if Saudi Arabia invests in the U.S., it would be a great help in creating job opportunities in America. In a joking tone, Trump said that while Saudi Arabia had previously said it would invest $600 billion in the U.S., this amount could even be increased to one trillion U.S. dollars. Trump further stated that both Saudi Arabia and the U.S. like each other very much.
