Rabat – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman visited the US Capital on Tuesday to discuss investment, military cooperation, and other diplomatic affairs with US President Donald Trump.
The prince was greeted with a red carpet and grand symbolic gestures from Trump, like a gunfire salute, a six-jet military flyover, and an honor guard parade on horseback. A lavish dinner took place in the East Room of the White House.
The welcome was also marked by a warm embrace from Trump, signifying a strong alliance between the prince and president.
Although the meeting was not an official state visit, as the prince is technically not a head of state, Trump hosted the prince in the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting which covered a variety of geopolitical topics.
Military cooperation
Amid broader military and security issues, the sale of American stealth F-35 fighter jets to Saudi was a prominent point in military-related discussions.
Saudi’s acquisition of these jets – partially confirmed by Trump – establishes Saudi as the first Arab nation to receive such robust aircraft from the US and solidifies the Gulf country as one of the region’s powerhouses.
Given strong ties between Saudi and China, the deal is a strategic move by the US.
The deal still technically needs to be approved by Congress, but will be pushed forward by the Trump administration, and in “exchange,” vague talks of Saudi-Israel normalization is evidently a sticking point for Trump.
In turn, Prince Mohammad has made it clear that strong military relations and Saudi’s cooperation in the Abraham Accords would be possible if substantial movement was made towards Palestinian statehood.
Israel is adamantly against this US-Saudi military engagement, especially in the context of Palestine and a potential two-state solution.
Despite serious skepticism of US-Saudi relations by other actors, Trump called Saudi one of his “strongest non-NATO allies.”
Investment Talks
Saudi Arabia agreed to invest $600 billion dollars into the US, creating jobs and resources for US companies and Wall Street investment firms, although Trump pushed for more: “Because he’s my friend, he might make it $1 trillion, but I’m going to have to work on him.”
The agreement centers around rare materials, magnets, and AI.
Jamal Khashoggi
Khashoggi was a Washington Post columnist and strong critic of the Saudi royal family. He was, surprisingly, a former advisor to the royal family but self-exiled to the US due to fears of repercussions.
During what he thought was a safe visit to Turkiye in 2018, he was assassinated by Saudi agents, although the Gulf Kingdom continues to deny any involvement in his death.
When questioned by American press about the US-based journalist in the Oval Office, Trump quickly jumped to the prince’s defense, and told the reporter “You’re mentioning something that was extremely controversial. … things happen. … You don’t have to embarrass our guests.”
The Khashoggi case is just one of multiple human rights abuses that human rights advocate groups have been urging Trump to address with Saudi leadership.
Prince Mohammad bin Salman has promoted his country as a guarantor of regional stability – a role that has been especially complex given the precarious state of the region amidst Israel’s genocide on Gaza and attacks on Doha and Lebanon.
As Saudi’s wealth continues to increase, a perfectly-executed alliance between Riyadh and Washington allows for Saudi Arabia to continue its economic momentum, act as a regional powerhouse, and leverage its resources and economy in regards to other global superpowers.
