Trump starts Gulf visit seeking big economic deals
Qatar's royal family is expected to gift US President Donald Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane, to be outfitted for use as Air Force One. (EPA Images pic)
RIYADH : US President Donald Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia tomorrow morning to kick off a four-day swing through the Gulf region, a trip that will focus more on economic deals than on the security crises besetting the region, from the war in Gaza to the threat of escalation over Iran's nuclear programme.
With a who's who of powerful American business leaders in tow, including Tesla CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk, Trump will first visit Riyadh – where the Saudi-US Investment Forum is taking place, and continue to Qatar on Wednesday and the UAE on Thursday.
Trump has also said he may travel on Thursday to Turkey for potential face-to-face talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Trump's second foreign trip since taking office again – his first was to Rome for Pope Francis' funeral – comes during a moment of geopolitical tension.
In addition to pressing for a settlement to the war in Ukraine, the Trump administration is pushing for a new aid mechanism for war-torn Gaza and urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree a new ceasefire deal there.
Over the weekend, US and Iranian negotiators met in Oman to discuss a potential deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.
Trump has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
However, potential Turkey side trip aside – those matters are not the focus of Trump's Middle East swing as it is currently scheduled.
The US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are expected to announce potentially trillions in investments.
Saudi Arabia already committed in January to US$600 billion in investments in the US over the next four years, but Trump has said he will ask for a full trillion.
In addition to Musk, business leaders including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser will make the trip.
Secretary of state and national security advisor Marco Rubio and secretary of defense Pete Hegseth will travel with the president.
During the Riyadh stop, Trump is expected to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over US$100 billion, sources told Reuters, which could include a range of advanced weapons including C-130 transport aircraft.
The US and Saudi Arabia are expected to avoid the topic of normalisation between Riyadh and Israel altogether, sources told Reuters, even as it is Trump's most enduring geopolitical goal in the region.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said last week that he imminently expected progress on expanding the Abraham Accords, a set of deals brokered by Trump in his first term under which Arab states including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco recognised Israel.
However, opposition by Netanyahu to a permanent stop to the war in Gaza or to the creation of a Palestinian state makes progress on similar talks with Riyadh unlikely, sources told Reuters.
Trump's second and third stops – in Qatar and the UAE, respectively – are similarly expected to focus on economic issues.
Qatar's royal family is expected to gift Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane to be outfitted for use as Air Force One, an arrangement that has been met with scrutiny by ethics experts.
Trump is expected to donate the plane to his presidential library for use after his term ends.
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