Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia plans to invest at least $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, as the kingdom seeks to deepen ties with its most important Western ally as Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The prince said in a phone call on Thursday that he congratulated Trump on his inauguration and that the reforms proposed by the new U.S. administration would "create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunities," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The White House did not immediately provide a summary of the call. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, often known by his initials MBS, also had a phone call to discuss developments in the Middle East, the State Department said Wednesday.
Trump said on Monday he would consider Saudi Arabia again for his first foreign trip as president if Riyadh agrees to buy $500 billion worth of U.S. products, as he claims the kingdom did during his first term in office.
"The last time I did this with Saudi Arabia was they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after his inauguration. "If Saudi Arabia wants to buy another $450 billion or $500 billion - We're going to raise prices for inflation - I think I might go."
When he took office for his first term in 2017, Trump broke with tradition and made Saudi Arabia his first overseas destination when attending a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders in Riyadh. Newly elected U.S. presidents usually first visit neighboring Canada or Mexico.
The statement on Prince Mohammed's call with Trump did not provide details about the sectors or industries that would receive $600 billion in investment, but said the amount could exceed this figure "if additional opportunities arise."
Trump maintained a close relationship with Saudi Arabia during his first term, and soon after Trump left the White House, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund reached out to Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and former Treasury Secretary Shi Steven Mnuchin runs companies with billions of dollars invested. house.
The Trump Organization also signed an agreement to license the Trump brand for real estate development in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Gulf.
Rubio and Prince Mohammed discussed threats posed by Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, as well as Saudi Arabia's main regional rival Iran.
Iran's so-called axis of resistance, which includes proxies and allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, has seen its military capabilities severely weakened after a 15-month conflict with Israel. Islamist rebels in Syria also overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad, another Tehran ally, last month.
Trump said on Monday he expected Saudi Arabia to eventually normalize relations with Israel and join the Abraham Accords, an initiative he launched during his first term that linked Israel with several countries including the United Arab Emirates. normalized relations between Arab countries.