Saudi Arabia plans to raise its investments in the United States to as much as $1 trillion, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told US President Donald Trump during their meeting at the White House on Tuesday.
“I believe, Mr President, in today and tomorrow, we can announce that we are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion for investment, real investment, and real opportunity,” the prince said as he appeared with Trump in front of reporters at the Oval Office.
“Now, you’re saying to me now that the $600 billion will be $1 trillion?” Trump said, to which the Saudi royal replied: “Definitely.”
The development comes as Crown Prince received a red carpet welcome from President Donald Trump on Tuesday, on his first visit to the United States since 2018.
Trump laid on a noisy military fly past featuring F-35 stealth fighters that Washington will sell to Riyadh as the Saudi leader arrived at the White House.
Cannon fire and a parade of horses also greeted the Saudi prince as Trump doubles down on Washington’s burgeoning alliance — and his own personal bond — with the key Middle Eastern ally.
Portugal soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in Saudi Arabia, will also be at the White House for the gala day of events, a White House official told AFP.
Trump has made a priority of boosting ties with the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, and said on Monday he would sell coveted F-35 stealth fighters to Saudi Arabia, calling it a “great ally.”
The move comes despite concerns from Israel and warnings from US officials that China could steal technological knowledge about the jets.
In another area of past contention, Trump will sign a deal on a framework for civilian nuclear cooperation, a US official and a source familiar with the negotiations said.
‘Honouring Saudi Arabia’
The 40-year-old prince has fostered close ties with Trump and his family over the years — a relationship burnished by a lavish welcome and $600 billion in investment pledges when the president visited Saudi Arabia in May.
Saudi Arabia is also expected to announce a “multi-billion-dollar investment” in AI infrastructure in the United States on Tuesday, the US official added.
Trump will meanwhile push Prince Mohammed to normalise relations with Israel as he seeks a wider Middle East peace deal after the war in Gaza.
“We’re more than meeting,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday when asked about the visit. “We’re honouring Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince.”
Trump will host the prince in the Oval Office, while later in the day, First Lady Melania will hold a gala dinner.
Security guarantees
Prince Mohammed will have his own agenda, seeking firmer US security guarantees after Israeli strikes in September on Qatar, an iron-clad US ally, rattled the wealthy Gulf region.
Along with the F-35 jets, Riyadh is seeking to buy advanced air and missile defence systems. It will also push hard for access to the high-tech chips it needs to fuel its AI ambitions, experts said.
But Saudi Arabia is unlikely to agree to normalisation with Israel at this stage, despite Trump’s aim for the grand prize of Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords that he launched in his first term.
Potential Saudi moves towards normalisation in return for security and energy guarantees were put on hold after the outbreak of Israel’s devastating war in Gaza in October 2023.
Riyadh appears in no mood to budge without any progress on its international push for a Palestinian state.
