Riyadh: US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping economic agreement with Saudi Arabia, launching a multi-nation Gulf tour aimed at attracting trillions of dollars in investment and deepening strategic ties with the oil-rich region.
Trump received a red-carpet welcome in Riyadh, where he was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before the two leaders signed a broad accord covering sectors including energy, defense, and mining.
The White House said the agreement includes nearly $142 billion in defense sales and a total Saudi commitment to invest approximately $600 billion in the United States. Trump, referring to the potential scale of the partnership, said it could ultimately rise to $1 trillion.
THE TRUMP EFFECT💰
$600,000,000,000President Donald J. Trump Secures Historic $600 Billion Investment Commitment in Saudi Arabia pic.twitter.com/PWpWrkXkbv
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 13, 2025
Trump is accompanied by a high-profile delegation of US business leaders including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The American contingent attended the Saudi-US investment forum held in Riyadh during the visit.
“About a billion dollars of investment is being made in frontier technologies, and it is no surprise that the lion’s share of these investments has gone into US companies,” NEOM Deputy CEO Rayan Fayez said at the forum. NEOM is the kingdom’s flagship “giga-project,” a $500 billion smart city initiative under the Vision 2030 economic reform plan.
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said the scope of bilateral cooperation has grown dramatically. “While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have expanded and multiplied many, many times over,” he said.
The visit underscores Trump’s focus on strengthening economic ties rather than addressing ongoing regional security challenges. Unlike previous trips by US presidents, Trump’s itinerary excludes a stop in Israel, raising speculation about Washington’s current priorities in the Middle East.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 13, 2025
Trump’s relationship with MbS stands in contrast to the strained ties under President Joe Biden, whose term was overshadowed by the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
While US intelligence assessed that MbS ordered the killing, the crown prince has denied involvement. Trump, meanwhile, has maintained close diplomatic and economic engagement with the Saudi leader.
Trump and MbS also discussed further cooperation in technology, space, and AI innovation.
Following his Saudi stop, Trump will head to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, has hinted at upcoming progress on expanding the Abraham Accords a US-brokered normalization deal between Israel and several Arab states.
