DUBAI (AP) – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince said the kingdom wants to invest USD600 billion in the United States (US) over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip.
Trump’s 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a tradition of US presidents first heading to the United Kingdom (UK) as their first trip abroad. It also underscored his administration’s close ties to the rulers of the oil-rich Gulf states as his eponymous real estate company has pursued deals across the region as well.
The comments from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reported early on Thursday by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, came in a phone call with Trump. It was Trump’s first call with a foreign leader since his inauguration on Monday.
“The Crown Prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of USD600 billion, and potentially beyond that,” the report said.
The readout did not elaborate on where those investments and trade could be placed. The US in recent years has increasingly pulled away from relying on Saudi oil exports, which once was the bedrock of their relationship for decades. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have taken large stakes in American businesses while also looking at sports as well.
Saudi Arabia does, however, rely predominantly on US-made weapons and defence systems, which could be a part of the investment.
The White House issued a statement acknowledging the call, saying the two leaders “discussed efforts to bring stability to the Middle East, bolster regional security and combat terrorism”.
“Additionally, they discussed the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s international economic ambitions over the next four years as well as trade and other opportunities to increase the mutual prosperity of the US and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the statement said, without elaborating.
The Crown Prince also spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
On Monday after his inauguration, Trump talked about possibly heading to the kingdom again as his first foreign trip, as he did in 2017.
“The first foreign trip typically has been with the UK but… I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy USD450 billion worth of our products,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.
“If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another USD450 or USD500 billion – we’ll up it for all the inflation – I think I’d probably go.”
n a potential trip to Saudi Arabia, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists: “I’m not aware of any plans at this time.”
Trump’s 2017 visit to the kingdom set in motion a yearslong boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations, including the kingdom.
