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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia aimed to invest at least $600bn in the US over the next four years, as the kingdom sought to deepen ties with its most important western ally after the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
The prince said in a Thursday phone call to congratulate Trump on his inauguration, that the new US administration’s proposed reforms would “create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
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 spoke on the phone to discuss developments in the Middle East, the state department said on Wednesday.
Trump said on Monday that he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first foreign trip as president again if Riyadh agreed to buy $500bn worth of American products, as he claimed the kingdom did in his first stint in power.
“I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450bn worth of our products,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after his inauguration. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450bn or $500bn — we’ll up it for all the inflation — I think I’d probably go.”
When he took office for his first term in 2017, Trump departed from tradition by making Saudi Arabia his first overseas destination as he attended a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders in Riyadh. Newly elected US presidents typically visit neighbouring Canada or Mexico first.
The statement about the call between Prince Mohammed and Trump did not provide details on the sectors or industries that would receive the $600bn of investment, but it said the amount could go “potentially beyond that if additional opportunities arise”.
Trump maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia during his first term, while the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund invested billions of dollars in companies run by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, shortly after Trump left the White House.
The Trump Organization also signed deals to license Trump’s brand for real estate developments in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Gulf.
Rubio and Prince Mohammed discussed Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, as well as the threat posed by Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival.
The military capabilities of Iran’s so-called axis of resistance, including proxies and allies such as Lebanon’s Hizbollah and Gaza-based Hamas, have been severely degraded after 15 months of conflict with Israel. Islamist rebels in Syria last month also overthrew the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad, another Tehran ally.
Trump said on Monday that he expected Saudi Arabia to eventually normalise ties with Israel and join the Abraham Accords, an initiative during his first term that normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states including the United Arab Emirates.
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