TRUMP HAILS SAUDI-US DEFENCE TIES
President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised US defence sales to Saudi Arabia as a boost to American jobs. In Oval Office talks, Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed an agreement last year for $200 billion worth of Saudi investments with the United States, including large purchases of US military equipment. Trump said the military sales contributed to the creation of 40,000 American jobs.
The talks were part of the first visit by the prince to the United States since he became the heir apparent last June to succeed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia. Prince Mohammed has consolidated power and is likely to rule for many decades if he succeeds his father.
Trump produced charts to show the depth of Saudi purchases of US military hardware, ranging from ships to missile defense to planes and fighting vehicles.
“The relationship now is probably as good as it’s really ever been and I think will probably only get better. Tremendous investments made in our country and that means jobs for our workers,” Trump told reporters during a picture-taking session with the crown prince.
The crown prince said the Saudi pledge for $200 billion in investments will end up at $400 billion when fully implemented. He said a 10-year window for implementing the deal was already under way.
“This is a signal that there (are) a lot of things (that) could be tackled in the close future and more opportunities. And that’s why we are here today, to be sure that we’ve tackled all the opportunities and achieve it and also get rid of all the threats facing our both countries,” he said.
The visit comes as the United States and much of the West are still trying to figure out Crown Prince Mohammed, better known by his initials MBS, whose sweeping programme of social changes at home and increased Saudi assertiveness abroad has upended decades of traditional rule in Saudi Arabia. The 32-year-old crown prince also has big economic plans, and over three weeks in the US he will meet businessmen in New York, tech mavens from Google and Apple Inc. in San Francisco, and entertainment bigwigs in Los Angeles. Other stops include Boston and Houston.
MBS said he was restoring the more tolerant, egalitarian society that existed before 1979. “We were victims, especially my generation that suffered from this a great deal.” It’s a message that has earned MBS admirers in the United States, as he allowed women to drive and opened movie theaters shuttered since the 1980s. MBS is turning “Saudi Arabia into a normal country in which normal people lead normal lives,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir told reporters on Monday. In MBS, Trump will find a sympathetic ear for his calls to crack down on Iran and strengthen a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran that former president Barack Obama and world powers brokered. Trump has threatened to pull out of the agreement unless there are changes by May.
Last week, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, an advocate of staying in the accord, choosing Mike Pompeo, the current CIA director and nuclear deal critic, as a replacement. —
Mohammed bin Salman is turning Saudi Arabia into a normal country in which normal people lead normal lives Adel Al Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister