U.S. President Donald Trump began a tour of wealthy Gulf states on Tuesday by visiting oil power Saudi Arabia, with his focus on securing mega investment deals rather than resolving pressing security problems in the Middle East.
Emerging from Air Force One on his first formal state, with a who’s who of U.S. business leaders including Elon Musk in tow, Trump punched the air in a show of solidarity as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeted him on his arrival in Riyadh.
Trump will go on from Riyadh, which is hosting a Saudi-US Investment Forum, to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington’s priorities.
“While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have expanded and multiplied many, many times over,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said as he opened the forum.
“As a result … when Saudis and Americans join forces very good things happen, more often than not great things happen when those joint ventures happen,” he said before Trump’s arrival.
Trump hopes to secure trillions of dollars of investments from the Gulf oil producers.
In a meeting at the Royal Court, Trump called the Saudi crown prince a friend and said they have a good relationship, according to a pool report from the Wall Street Journal.
Trump recalled travelling to the kingdom in 2017 and said Saudi investment would help create jobs in the U.S.
He said jokingly that a $600-billion investment pledge by Saudi Arabia could be $1 trillion, repeating a figure he has cited before as he seeks investment from an important strategic partner.
“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said.
At the Saudi-US Investment Forum, at the front of a palatial hall sat Larry Fink, the CEO of asset management firm BlackRock, Stephen A. Schwartzman, CEO of asset manager Blackstone, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan and Falih.
