TRUMP’S FIRST stop to be Saudi Arabia.
Israel, Vatican, NATO visits also set
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that his first foreign trip as president will feature stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, where he will meet with Pope Francis, and will include meetings with NATO and a summit in Italy.
Senior administration officials said Trump chose Saudi Arabia as his first stop to show his commitment to improving U. S. relations with the Muslim world. Trump will meet with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and other leaders and is expected to discuss efforts to defeat terrorism and discredit radical ideologies, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal planning.
Trump, joining religious leaders in the Rose Garden on Thursday, said his first foreign trip would “begin with a truly historic gathering in Saudi Arabia with leaders all across the Muslim world.”
“Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the two holiest sites in Islam, and it is there that we will begin to construct a new foundation of cooperation and support with our Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for young Muslims in their countries,” Trump said.
The weeklong trip will mark the president’s first trip abroad and come about six weeks after the U. S. launched Tomahawk missiles against a Syrian air base in the aftermath of a chemical weapons attack in the war- ravaged country.
The announcement follows Trump’s Wednesday meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and his pledge to mediate peace efforts between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Trump has sought to forge strong ties with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of his presidency in hopes of facilitating peace. The visit to Israel will reinforce that alliance, officials said.
“Our task is not to dictate to others how to live but to build a coalition of friends and partners who share the goal of fighting terrorism and bringing safety, opportunity and stability to the war- ravaged Middle East,” Trump said.
The White House had earlier said Trump would travel to Belgium for the NATO meeting and Italy for the summit of industrial nations known as the Group of Seven before Memorial Day. The president previously called NATO “obsolete” but has since recanted after listening to European leaders make the case for the military alliance.
Trump will be making his first overseas trip late into the start of his presidency compared with his predecessors. Former President Barack Obama visited nine countries by late April 2009, his first three months in office, meeting with allies such as Canada, Britain and Germany. The last first- term president to wait until May to venture abroad was Jimmy Carter in 1977.
Trump’s visit will also give him the opportunity to connect with Roman Catholics with his visit with Pope Francis at the Vatican. The White House said the president met privately Thursday with Roman Catholic cardinals.
Information for this article was contributed by Nicole Winfi eld of The Associated Press.