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United States President Donald Trump touched down in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, kicking off a four-day tour of the Middle East where he will focus on a series of lucrative economic deals, as well as trying to end the war in Gaza.
While visiting the capital, Riyadh, Trump will attend a series of events with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Shortly after landing, Trump punched the air when he caught sight of bin Salman, also known as MbS, before the two shook hands.
He is expected to speak at a US-Saudi investment forum in front of leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, before sitting down for dinner with the crown prince.
Saudi Arabia has pledged to make big investments in the US, and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which are the other two stops on Trump’s itinerary, are both sites of major real estate projects being developed by the Trump Organisation.
A who’s who of powerful American business leaders have also accompanied the US president to Riyadh, including Tesla CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk, and Larry Fink, the CEO of asset management firm BlackRock, to take part in a Saudi-US investment forum.
Saudi Arabia and the US have maintained strong ties for decades based on an ironclad arrangement in which the kingdom delivers oil and the superpower provides security.
Saudi F-15 fighter jets appeared on both sides of the presidential plane Air Force One, cruising along in close proximity to accompany Trump into the kingdom, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Trump has also said he may travel to Turkey on Thursday for potential face-to-face talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The tour is Trump’s second overseas trip since returning to office, the first being to Rome, for Pope Francis’ funeral.
It comes at a time of increased geopolitical tensions, as his administration presses for both peace in Ukraine and a new ceasefire and aid mechanism for Gaza after 19 months of brutal conflict.
In addition, US and Iranian negotiators also met in Oman over the weekend to discuss Trump has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Apart from the possible Turkey side trip, those matters are not the focus of Trump’s Middle East tour as now scheduled. The US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are expected to announce investments that could run into the trillions.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio and defence secretary Pete Hegseth are travelling with Trump.
Trump is expected to offer Saudi Arabia a sizeable arms package, which could include a range of advanced weapons, including C-130 transport aircraft, according to the Reuters News Agency.
The US and Saudi Arabia are expected to avoid the topic of normalisation between Riyadh and Israel altogether, sources told Reuters, even though it remains Trump’s most enduring geopolitical goal in the region.
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