New cooperation on defence as Crown Prince meets Trump
Mohammed arrives for two-day visit in US to discuss Iran and war on terror, and pave the way for president’s visit to Middle East
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed met Donald Trump for talks in Washington yesterday as the White House announced a defence agreement between their countries. Mr Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer said the agreement would allow the UAE and US “to work more closely together to address common security threats”.
“The president hopes to work together even more closely to resolve regional conflicts that have raged across the region for too long,” Mr Spicer said. Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is “a strong partner of the US and a leader in the Middle East on important topics including defence cooperation, regional security and counter-terrorism”, Mr Spicer said
Sitting alongside each other in the Oval Office, Mr Trump called Sheikh Mohammed a “very special person” who loves his country and the US.
The leaders were set to discuss cooperation, including on coun- ter-terrorism and efforts to contain Iran’s regional ambitions, as well as trade and investment.
The talks paved the way for Mr Trump’s trip to Riyadh this weekend, where he will meet Saudi leaders, GCC officials and heads of state from many Muslim countries allied with Riyadh.
It will be the first stop on his first official trip overseas. Sheikh Mohammed was to meet the US secretary of defence overnight, and the secretary of state and senior congress members today. But a key goal of his time in Washington will be to help Mr Trump prepare for Saudi Arabia.
The UAE views the US leader’s support for Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and his economic reform plan as crucial to its success.
Mr Trump, increasingly embattled at home, is looking to make headway on some of his key foreign policy objectives.
They include an attempt to broker peace between the Palestinians and Israel, and working with Washington’s traditional partners in the Middle East to roll back Iran’s growing influence in the region.
His meeting with leaders from more 50 Middle East, African and Asian Muslim countries in Riyadh is also intended to send a signal to audiences abroad and in the US that he has moved away from his campaign talk about Muslims. Mr Trump’s trip to Riyadh is aimed at “helping to build bridges and understanding between the president and a group he had some challenges with”, a source said. Sheikh Mohammed and Mr Trump were also expected to discuss the UAE’s counter-extremism efforts and policies promoting religious tolerance, including joint initiatives established during Barack Obama’s tenure, such as the Sawab Cen- tre in Abu Dhabi. The wars in Yemen, Syria and Libya are also expected to be raised during the Crown Prince’s two days in the US capital.
He is expected to brief members of congress on the UAE’s counter- terrorism efforts in Yemen, its humanitarian efforts in the country and through the UN, and the Emirates’ intensified role in political negotiations to bring an end the conflict.
Preparations are also under way in Washington and Riyadh to conclude investment and defence deals. An arms deal with Riyadh, which includes systems that Mr Obama refused to sell to the kingdom because of differences over its campaign in Yemen, is being prepared.
US officials hope that deal, worth a reported US$ 300 billion ( Dh1.1 trillion) over the next decade, will be ready to announce before Mr Trump’s departure for Riyadh or during his visit. Washington also announced last week that it had approved a $2bn sale of missiles to the UAE for its Patriot defence systems. It will be reviewed for up to 90 days by the congress, whose approval is also required. The sale is not expected to face any resistance.
Saudi officials hope to finalise a plan that Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly presented to Mr Trump during their White House meeting in March that would see the kingdom use a new investment fund to invest $200bn in the US.
Mr Trump asked for most of the investments in infrastructure and industry to be made in the poorer Midwestern states that helped to swing the election in his favour.
The Saudi prince also offered US companies a preferential role in the Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy, which relies on greater foreign investment in non-energy sectors of the Saudi economy. Prince Mohammed said Mr Trump’s visit and meetings with Gulf and Muslim leaders “will establish a new partnership in confronting extremism and terrorism”.