The crown prince of Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that the kingdom wants invest 600 billion dollars in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President donald trump He first put a price on his return to the kingdom as his first trip abroad.
He Trump trip to Saudi Arabia in 2017 broke tradition of American presidents heading first to the United Kingdom on their first trip abroad. He also highlighted the His administration’s close ties with the rulers of the Gulf statesrich in oil, as his eponymous real estate company has also carried out deals throughout the region.
The crown prince’s comments Mohammed Bin Salmanwhich the Saudi state press agency reported early Thursday, occurred in a phone call with Trump.
“The crown prince affirmed the intention of the kingdom of expand its investments and trade with the United States in the next four years, for an amount of 600 billion dollars, and potentially beyond that”the report said.
The report did not detail where those investments and trade could be located. In recent years, The United States has become increasingly dependent on Saudi oil exportswhich were once the basis of their relationship for decades. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have acquired large stakes in US companieswhile they are also interested in the sport.
However, Saudi Arabia relies heavily on American-made weapons and defense systemswhich could be part of the investment.
The White House did not immediately report the call. It was also not immediately clear whether Trump’s call with the crown prince was his first with a foreign leader since his re-entry into the White House. However, it was the first reported abroad.
The crown prince, de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, also spoke with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubioearly Thursday.
On Monday, after his inauguration, Trump spoke of the possibility of heading back to the kingdom as your first trip abroadas he did in 2017.
“The first trip abroad has typically been with the United Kingdom, but the last time I did it with Saudi Arabia because they agreed to buy products from us worth 450 billion dollarsTrump told reporters in the Oval Office. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450,000 or $500 billion – we’ll raise it because of all the inflation – I think it would probably go.”
The 2017 visit to the kingdom launched a years-long boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations, including the kingdom.
Trump maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia, even after Prince Mohammed was implicated in the 2018 murder and dismemberment of newspaper columnist Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The kingdom had also been talking for years with the Biden administration about a broader agreement to diplomatically recognize Israel in exchange for US defense protections and other supports.
The promise of 600 billion dollarsthat is equivalent to the gross domestic product of many countriesalso occurs when the kingdom faces its own budget pressures. Global oil prices remain depressed years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, hitting the kingdom’s revenues.
Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed also wants to continue his $500 billion project in NEOMa new city in the western desert of Saudi Arabia, on the shores of the Red Sea. It will also need to build tens of billions of dollars worth of new stadiums and infrastructure before receiving the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
(With information from AP)
