Saudis, US in record $380b deals
‘PACKAGE OF DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES SUPPORTS SECURITY OF SAUDI ARABIA AND GULF IN FACE OF IRAN THREATS’
T he White House announced a huge arms deal with Saudi Arabia yesterday as President Donald Trump took his first steps on the world stage.
The $110 billion deal for Saudi purchases of US defence equipment and services came at the start of an eight-day foreign tour that will also take Trump to occupied Jerusalem, the Vatican and meetings with leaders in Europe.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said deals worth in excess of $380 billion were signed during Trump’s visit. “That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States,” Trump said at talks with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz.
“Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer hailed the defence agreement as the “largest single arms deal in US history”.
“This package of defence equipment and services supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats,” a White House official said.
King Salman said Trump’s visit would strengthen cooperation between the two countries and help enhance global security. “Mr. President, your visit will strengthen our strategic cooperation, lead to global security and stability,” King Salman said in a message on his official Twitter account in Arabic and English.
For Riyadh, the visit is an opportunity to rebuild ties with a key ally, strained under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama who Gulf states suspected of a tilt towards Iran.
Today’s speech to dozens of Muslim leaders has been touted as a major event — along the lines of a landmark address to the Muslim world given by Obama in Cairo in 2009. While most US presidents make their first foreign trip to neighbouring Canada or Mexico, 70-year-old Trump has opted instead for the Middle East and Europe.
He travels to Israel and the Palestinian Territories tomorrow and on Tuesday, and then to the Vatican and to Brussels and Italy for Nato and G7 meetings. After meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Trump will see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, part of his efforts to revive the long-stagnant peace process.
On Tuesday, Trump heads to Rome to meet with Pope Francis.
President Donald Trump was received like visiting royalty here yesterday, as his debut on the world stage competed for attention at home with ongoing news of the scandal encircling his presidency.
In a series of official arrival ceremonies — at the airport and the Royal Court palace — Trump, his wife Melania, and an entourage including virtually his entire senior White House staff and much of his Cabinet, were serenaded by military bands, treated to a fly-past of Saudi jets, feted in opulent palaces and given the undivided attention of King Salman, the ruler of Saudi Arabia.
Rekindling relations
The welcome reflected a kingdom eager to rekindle its relationship with the United States, and to use the visit to declare and solidify its own leadership role in the Muslim world.
As the desert capital baked in triple-digit heat under a pall of dust, American and Saudi flags flew from lightpoles. The facade of the Ritz Carlton, the palace-like hotel where Trump is staying, was illuminated with massive photographs of the two leaders and the red, white, blue and green of the two nations’ flags.
The only US president to make Saudi Arabia his first foreign visit, Trump was presented with the highest honour for a foreign dignitary, the Collar of Abdul Aziz Al Saud, named for the kingdom’s founder, which King Salman hung on a thick gold chain around Trump’s neck.
In an ornate reception hall at the Royal Court, members of the US delegation lined up to shake hands with Salman, then took a seat along the periphery of the grand room aside a member of the Saudi delegation.
On the dais with Trump were the first lady, daughter Ivanka and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and chief strategist Steve Bannon also were there.
Lunch with the king followed, and then a closed-door bilateral meeting. Later in the day, Trump and Tillerson attended a signing ceremony for $110 billion in US defence sales to Saudi Arabia, in many cases reconfirming deals that date back to the Obama administration. The two governments also plan to sign additional commitments on counterterrorism efforts.
Among the issues discussed will be oil — the kingdom is one of the world’s largest producers — as well as Iran and Syria. Saudi Arabia is part of the USled coalition against Daesh, but relations were strained with the Obama administration over US failure to push for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad with strong support for rebels fighting against him.
During his campaign, Trump indicated he was uninterested in US involvement in Syria’s civil war, but as president has spoken out against Al Assad and last month launched a cruise missile attack against a Syrian government airbase.
As they chatted following the award ceremony, King Salman was overheard telling Trump that “Syria too used to be one of the most advanced countries. We used to get our professors from Syria. They served our kingdom. Unfortunately, they too brought destruction to their own country. You could destroy a country in mere seconds, but it takes a lot of effort.”
Air Force One touched down here shortly before 10am local time after an all-night flight.
King Salman was brought to the edge of the red carpet in a golf cart, then walked with a cane to the bottom of the aircraft stairs to await Trump.
The two exchanged greetings as a military brass band played, distant cannons boomed and seven Saudi jets flew overhead in formation, trailing red, white and blue smoke.
Great honour
“I’m very happy to see you,” King Salman told Trump, who responded that it was a “great honour” to be visiting the kingdom.
Trump and the first lady — who had her hair uncovered and wore black long sleeves and flared pants, cinched with a wide, metallic gold belt — were presented bouquets of flowers by three traditionally dressed little girls. King Salman’s presence at the airport ceremony was a sign of the importance of Trump’s visit to the Saudis. Chatting through an interpreter, the two men then walked into the VIP reception terminal at King Khalid International Airport for a cup of coffee. Salman rode with Trump in the president’s armoured Cadillac for the drive into the city.
Trump has two days of meetings scheduled in Riyadh, including with the heads of the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and an Arab Islamic American Summit of at least 40 nations, primarily from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He hopes to forge new partnerships in fighting global terrorism and confronting a common enemy, Iran, which on Friday re-elected President Hassan Rouhani.
Trump also held a brief meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef and an open-ended meeting with the Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Salman, who visited Trump at the White House earlier this spring.
The highlight of Trump’s stop in Riyadh is expected to be a speech on Islam that he will deliver today to the larger summit meeting. Though his campaign was marked by harsh anti-Muslim rhetoric, Trump is planning to preach religious tolerance here, inviting the Arab world to join the United States in combating terrorism and evil in the region. Trump also planned to participate in the inauguration of a new Saudi centre to fight radicalism and promote moderation, as well as take part in a Twitter forum with young people.