SAUDI, US SIGN $380B DEALS
$110 billion arms agreement with options for $350 billion over 10 years marks Trump’s maiden visit
riyadh — US President Donald Trump, in the first stop of his maiden trip abroad, on Saturday received a regal welcome in Saudi Arabia where he signed business and arms deals totalling $380 billion.
A $110 billion deal in which Saudi Arabia will buy US arms to help it counter Iran, with options for as much as $350 billion over 10 years, was the central achievement of Trump’s first day in Riyadh, first stop on a nine-day journey through the Middle East and Europe.
Trump and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, seemed at ease with each other, chatting through an interpreter. At the royal Al Yamama Palace, the king draped around Trump’s neck the King Abdulaziz medal, the country’s top civilian honour.
“That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States,” Trump said after a meeting with the Saudi crown prince, his only utterances to the press by late in the day. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.”
The king was overheard lamenting the Syrian war to Trump, who ordered air strikes against a Syrian airfield in April in response to a chemical weapons attack by government forces against civilians.
“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 can destroy a country in mere seconds, but it takes a lot of effort,” he said.
The arms package includes a pledge by the kingdom to assemble 150 Lockheed Martin Blackhawk helicopters in Saudi Arabia, in a $6 billion deal expected to result in about 450 jobs in the kingdom.
National oil firm Saudi Aramco said it signed $50 billion of agreements with US firms. US technology and engineering conglomerate GE said it had signed $15 billion of agreements with Saudi organisations.
“The two countries signed a series of agreements,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir told reporters. He said the “total value of investments is in excess of $380 billion”.
Trump waved from the doorway after Air Force One touched down and before descending the staircase with first lady Melania Trump. King Salman and the US leader exchanged pleasantries and Trump said it was “a great honour” to be there. — Reuters, AP
riyadh — President Donald Trump, in the first stop of his maiden trip abroad, received a regal welcome on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, feted by the kingdom as he aims to forge strong alliances to combat terrorism while pushing past the multiple controversies threatening to engulf his young administration.
Trump arrived in Riyadh after an overnight flight and was welcomed at elaborate airport ceremony punctuated by a military flyover and a handshake from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia. He is the only American president to make Saudi Arabia, or any majority Muslim country, his first stop overseas — a choice designed in part to show respect to the region after more than a year of Trump’s harsh antiMuslim campaign rhetoric.
The visit kicks off an ambitious international debut for Trump. After two days of meetings here, Trump will travel to Israel, have an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican and meet with allies at a Nato summit in Brussels and the Group of 7 powerful nations in Sicily.
Trump waved from the doorway after Air Force One touched down and before descending the staircase with first lady Melania Trump. The 81-year-old King Salman, who used a cane for support, was brought to the steps of the plane in a golf cart. The leaders exchanged pleasantries and Trump said it was ‘a great honour’ to be there.
Several jets then flew overhead leaving a red, white and blue trail.
Soon after, Trump tweeted for the first time on international soil as president. “Great to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Looking forward to the afternoon and evening ahead.”
At a later ceremony at the grand Saudi Royal Court, the king placed the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud, the nation’s highest civilian honour, around Trump’s neck. The medal, given to Trump for his efforts to strengthen ties in the region, has also been bestowed on Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.
The king and Trump were overheard discussing natural resources and arms, and the king bemoaned the destruction caused by Syria’s civil war. Trump also was set to sign a defence cooperation agreement with the Saudis, pledging $110 billion effective immediately and up to $350 billion over 10 years, as well as some private sector agreements. The military package includes tanks, combat ships, missile defence systems, radar and communications, and cybersecurity technology.
White House officials hope the trip, complete with images of the accompanying pomp and pageantry of a president abroad, will help Trump recalibrate after one of the most difficult stretches of his young presidency. The White House bungled the president’s stunning firing of FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing a federal investigation into possible ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia. This week, the Justice Department relented to pressure from Democrats and named former FBI chief Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead the probe.
But fresh news reports about the Russia investigation surfaced shortly after Trump departed and threatened to overshadow the nine-day trip.
The New York Times reported that Trump called Comey “a real nut job” while discussing the ongoing investigation with two Russian officials in the Oval Office earlier this month. He also told them that firing Comey had “taken off” the “great pressure” he was feeling from the investigation, the Times reported. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that an unidentified senior Trump adviser was being considered a “person of interest” in the investigation. Separately, Comey agreed to testify at an upcoming, open hearing of the Senate intelligence committee, the panel said.
Despite those troubles, Trump was warmly received in Saudi Arabia in contrast to his predecessor. Saudi’s ruling family grew deeply frustrated with Obama’s detente with Iran and his restrained approach on Syria. The king did not greet Obama at the airport when he visited last year.
Billboards featuring images of Trump and the king and emblazoned with the motto “Together we prevail,” dotted Riyadh’s highways, and Trump’s hotel was bathed in red, white and blue lights and, at times, an image of the president’s face.
Mrs Trump wore a black pantsuit with a golden belt and did not cover her head, consistent with the custom for foreign dignitaries visiting Saudi Arabia. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, also eschewed the scarf. Her father had criticised then-lady Michelle Obama for not wearing a headscarf during a 2015 visit to the kingdom.
Trump arrived as Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani won reelection by a wide margin, giving the moderate cleric a second, fouryear term to continue pushing for greater freedoms and outreach to the wider world.
On Sunday, he’ll deliver a speech on Islam and hold meetings with more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders, who are converging on Riyadh for a regional summit focused largely on combating the Islamic State and other extremist groups.
White House aides view the address as a counter to Obama’s 2009 speech to the Muslim world, which Trump criticized as too apologetic for US actions in the region.