The United States and Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday the signing of a series of agreements worth 600,000 million dollars, according to the White House, in areas that cover from access to critical minerals to energy security, during the visit of President Donald Trump to the Arab country, the first stage of a tour of the Arabic monarchies of the Persian Gulf. Among the signed agreements is a defense pact worth 142,000 million for which Washington will provide advanced armament teams to its ally, and that the presidential office has described as “the largest for sale of defense equipment in history”.
The tour of the US president, the first on the outside of this second term, was a priority objective to pursue juicy commercial agreements, of which Trump could presume upon his return and boast of his negotiating skills. The Gulf monarchies have rushed to fulfill their wishes, and to wear the ads with the greatest possible pomp.
The announcement has been released during a meeting between Trump and the Saudi heir prince, Mohamed Bin Salmán, in Riad, after a lavish welcome ceremony at the airport and in the royal pavilion with an abundance of red carpets. “I think we really like us,” said the US president during his encounter with Bin Salmán, the leader de facto of the Saudi kingdom.
Trump also took the opportunity to try to press his interlocutor so that Saudi Arabia expands his investment commitment to a billion dollars, a goal that the American has mentioned several times since his investiture.
According to the White House, the Defense Agreement signed on Tuesday will provide Saudi Arabia for “combat teams and services provided by a dozen US companies” of the sector. It will include “improvements in the Air Force and Space Capabilities”, Air and Missile Defense, Maritime and Coastal Security, Border Safety and Improvements in Information and Communication Systems. The Pact also provides “extensive training and support” for the improvement of the capacity of the Saudi Armed Forces, the presidential office indicates in a statement.
It is unknown if the agreement includes the supply of advanced f-35 hunting aircraft, as Saudi Arabia wanted. The Arab country is the largest American weapon buyer, but so far it does not have access to those devices, of which Israel does.
During the mandate of Democrat Joe Biden, concluded this January, the United States had tried to close a defense collaboration agreement with Saudi Arabia as part of a negotiation so that Riyadh would accept the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel. But the war in Gaza derailed those plans.
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