Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Saudi ArabiaThe crown prince said Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Trump put a price tag on returning to the Kingdom as his first foreign trip.
Mr. Trump’s 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia disrupted a tradition of U.S. presidents heading first to the United Kingdom as their first foreign trip. He also highlighted his administration’s close ties to leaders of the oil-rich Gulf states, as his eponymous real estate company also has deals across the region.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s comments, reported early Thursday by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, came on the phone with Mr. Trump.
Evan Vucci/AP
“The Crown Prince confirmed the Kingdom’s intention to expand its investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, to the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond,” the report said.
The reading did not explain where these investments and trade could be placed. In recent years, the United States has moved further and further away from its understanding of Saudi oil exports, which had been the bedrock of its relationship for decades. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have taken large stakes in American companies while watching sports as well.
Saudi Arabia, however, is mainly focused on American-made weapons and defense systems, which could be part of the investment.
There was no immediate White House readout of the call. It was also not immediately clear whether Mr. Trump’s call with the crown prince was his first with a foreign leader since returning to the White House. However, this was the first such call to be reported.
The crown prince, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, also spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio early Thursday.
On Monday, after his inauguration, Mr. Trump spoke about the possibility of visiting the Kingdom again as his first foreign trip, as he did in 2017.
“The first trip abroad has usually been with the UK but… I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion of our products” , Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or $500 — we’ll back it up for all the inflation — I think I’d probably go.”
The 2017 visit to the Kingdom sparked a years-long boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations, including the Kingdom.
Mr. Trump has maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia, even after Prince Mohammed was Involved in 2018 murder and dismemberment Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The kingdom had also been talking for years with the Biden administration about a broader deal recognize Israel in exchange for U.S. defense protections and other support.
The $600 billion commitment, which dwarfs many nations’ gross domestic product, also comes as the kingdom faces budgetary pressures. Global oil prices remain depressed years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, affecting the Kingdom’s revenues.
Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed also wants to continue his $500 billion project at NEOM, a new city in Saudi Arabia’s Western Desert on the Red Sea. It will also need to build tens of billions of dollars of new stadiums and infrastructure before hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.