Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia told President Trump on Wednesday that the kingdom intends to increase investment and trade with the United States by at least $600 billion over the next four years. according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
The crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, told Trump that his new administration had the ability to create “unprecedented economic prosperity” in the United States and that the kingdom wanted to participate, according to a statement from the Saudi Press Agency. said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the call from the White House.
Mr. Trump promised to accelerate investment in the United States, in particular to help revive the manufacturing sector. During his election campaign last year, he said he would use a combination of tax cuts and tariffs to force companies to invest in the United States.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump announced Stargate, a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle that aims to create at least $100 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The initiative could invest up to $500 billion over four years.
Saudi Arabia was Mr. Trump’s first stop on his first foreign trip as president in 2017, a reflection of the importance he placed on his relationship with the crown prince. During this period, the United States entered into major agreements with the kingdom, including arms sales.
Since then, Mr. Trump and his family have signed several personal business deals in the Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Trump Organization announced several projects in Saudi Arabia in December and also unveiled a $533 million Trump Tower in Jeddah with Dar Global, the global arm of Saudi real estate company Dar Al Arkan. Dar Al Arkan and its subsidiary Dar Global are both privately owned companies, but they have close ties to the Saudi government.
Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, also secured a $2 billion investment from a Saudi government fund for his private equity firm six months after Mr. Trump left the White House in 2021.
“One thing is for sure, both Trump and MBS are fluent in the language of business,” said Salman al-Ansari, a Saudi geopolitical analyst, using a widely used abbreviation of the crown prince’s name.
Mr. Trump told reporters In the Oval Office on Monday, Saudi Arabia was his first foreign stop during his previous term because “they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products.”
If Saudi Arabia wanted to “buy another 450 or 500,” he said, “I think I would probably go there,” for his first trip abroad during his second term.
In the spring, before his election, Mr. Trump spoke with the crown prince. It is unclear what exactly they discussed and whether this is the only conversation they have had since Mr. Trump left office.
During the campaign, Mr. Trump said Al Arabiya, a Saudi television channel, that he had “so much respect for Mohammed, who is doing so well.”
Mr. Trump stood by the crown prince following the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, despite the CIA’s assessment that the crown prince likely approved Mr. Khashoggi.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke with the Saudi Crown Prince, in a phone call during which they discussed “the strength of the U.S.-Saudi partnership during this time of momentous change,” according to a statement from the Department of State. In 2018, when he was a senator, Mr. Rubio said there was “without a doubt“The Saudi crown prince was involved in Khashoggi’s murder.
The Trump administration is also working to persuade Saudi Arabia to rejoin the Abraham Accords, a deal negotiated during Mr. Trump’s first term that allowed several Arab countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel .
In a statement released Thursday morning by the Saudi Press Agency, the Saudis said Mr. Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed also discussed “ways to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East,” although that the press release does not mention any discussion. on a possible expansion of these agreements.
In the Oval Office on Monday, Mr. Trump also discussed these agreements. He told reporters: “I don’t think they should be pushed. I think it will happen, but maybe not yet. But they will end in the agreements, the Abraham Accords.” Asked when he expected the two sides to sign a new deal, Mr. Trump said: “Soon.”
Last year, Crown Prince Mohammed said the kingdom would not normalize relations with Israel without first gaining recognition of the Palestinian state, a stance that marked a shift from previous statements.
