Trump Starts Gulf Visit Focusing on Mega Economic Deals
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the start of a four-day visit to the wealthy Gulf region, focusing more on economic deals than regional security matters ranging from war in Gaza to talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
With a who’s who of powerful American business leaders in tow, Trump is visiting Riyadh, site of a Saudi-US Investment Forum, before going to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington’s priorities.
Trump is hoping to secure trillions of dollars of investments from the Gulf oil producers. Saudi Arabia had pledged $600 billion but Trump has said he wants $1 trillion from the kingdom, one of Washington’s most important allies.
Joining Trump for a lunch with MbS are top U.S. businessmen including billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
