Saudi Arabia has signed deals with the US worth more than $666 billion, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia has signed deals with the US worth more than $666 billion, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.
During an address at the event, Prince Mohammed said the Kingdom was looking at $600 billion of investment opportunities, adding that he hoped this would raise to $1 trillion.
US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani agreed deals in Doha on Wednesday that the White House said were worth $1.2 trillion, including a massive order from Qatar Airways to buy Boeing aircraft.
Trump started the trip in Saudi Arabia which promised its own $600 billion in investment, including one of the largest-ever purchases of US weapons. The Gulf leaders’ largesse has also stirred controversy, with Qatar offering Trump a luxury aeroplane ahead of his visit for presidential and then personal use, in what Trump’s Democratic rivals charged was blatant corruption.
Trump, who also chose Saudi Arabia for the opening visit of his first term, has been unabashed about seeking Gulf money and hailed the effect on creating jobs at home.
In a speech in Riyadh, Trump attacked not only Democrats but also the traditional wing of his own Republican Party, which had championed US military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Complimenting the skyline of the Saudi desert capital, Trump said: “The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called ‘nation-builders’, ‘neocons’ or ‘liberal non-profits’, like those who spent trillions failing to develop Kabul and Baghdad.”
“Instead, the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought about by the people of the region themselves,” he said. “In the end, the so-called ‘nation-builders’ wrecked far more nations than they built.”
Qatar Airways will buy up to 210 Boeing 777X and 787 widebody jets for $96 billion in a coup for both Trump and the planemaker.
Trump said he and Sheikh Tamim also discussed Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war, strengthening ties in defense, investment, energy, education and cybersecurity. They also touched on preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 Olympics, which will be hosted in the US.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a joint declaration of cooperation between the two governments, and letters of offer and acceptance for MQ-9B drones and the FS-LIDS anti-drone system, Qatar News Agency reported.
President Trump thanked the emir for Qatar’s warm hospitality and described Sheikh Tamim as a longtime friend and trusted partner. “We always had a very special relationship,” he said of the emir.
Senior Qatari ministers and US cabinet officials, including the secretaries of state, defense, treasury, commerce and energy, also attended the talks and signing ceremony.
The Qatar Airways deal for Boeing 777X and 787 planes with GE Aerospace engines is a win for Trump on a high-profile visit to the region, even though it will be years before the jets are delivered.
The sale is also a boost for Boeing and its biggest engine supplier at a time when large versions of rival Airbus’ A350, powered by Rolls-Royce engines, have struggled with maintenance problems from operating in the world’s hottest climates, including the Gulf region. The agreement is for 160 firm orders — 130 787s and 30 777Xs — and options for another 50 of the two long-haul airplanes, according to Boeing. The company’s shares rose 0.6 percent in New York, while GE Aerospace stock gained 0.7 percent.
Trump was due to end a brief trip to Qatar with a speech to U.S. troops on Thursday then fly to the United Arab Emirates, where leaders hope for U.S. help to make the wealthy Gulf nation a global leader in artificial intelligence.
The US has a preliminary agreement with the UAE to allow it to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s, opens new tab most advanced AI chips a year, starting this year.
