US President Donald Trump will be arriving in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, ahead of trips to Qatar and the UAE later in the week, as Washington seeks more investment from the Gulf states.
The US president intended to make the visit to Saudi Arabia his first official, overseas stop since his inauguration, but the death of the late Pope Francis prompted an earlier trip to Rome.
After calming trade tensions with China over the weekend, Trump will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The de facto leader has already promised to invest $600 billion in the US over the next four years, although Trump has said he’d like to lift that to $1 trillion.
The Public Investment fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, already holds significant investments in the US, invested in a range of companies including Uber.
Even so, experts have questioned whether the $600bn target is realistic. Saudi Arabia is notably contending with depressed oil prices, pushed down in part by Trump’s tariff war.
What will Saudi Arabia be looking for?
As President Trump visits Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will be looking to secure American investment for its Vision 2030 program, which seeks to diversify its economy away from oil.
The nation aims to secure more than $100bn in foreign direct investment (FDI) annually by 2030, focusing on a range of sectors including the mining, tourism, and entertainment industries.
It is also hoping to become a leader in tech and artificial intelligence, meaning the country wants greater access to US semiconductors.
Trump is already making conciliatory moves, as he last week axed restrictions on exports of US advanced chips to a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia.
The restrictions, introduced by former president Joe Biden for national security reasons, intended to make it more difficult for Chinese companies to access US semiconductors via third countries.
Also on Riyadh’s wishlist is improved access to US military equipment — an ambition Trump seems to support. Last month, the President signed an executive order to relax rules around exports of military equipment.
According to the Investment Forum committee, the US has already invested $54bn of FDI in Saudi Arabia, representing nearly one in every four dollars of FDI in the Kingdom.
Who’s speaking at the forum – and what’s on the programme?
Tuesday’s forum will focus on a range of topics including sustainability, AI and technology, aerospace and defence, and healthcare.
A range of Saudi ministers will be speaking, notably energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, investment minister Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, and finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan.
US speakers include CEOs Stephen A. Schwarzman, Larry Fink, Jane Fraser, and Arvind Krishna, who head up Blackstone, BlackRock, Citigroup, and IBM respectively.
Ruth Porat, the CIO of Alphabet and Google, will also be speaking, along with White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks.
More than 2,000 delegates will be attending.
Trump’s upcoming trips to other Gulf states
On Wednesday 14th, Trump will attend a summit of Gulf leaders, also in Riyadh, before travelling to Qatar. The President will then end his trip of 15 May in the UAE.
The UAE has promised to invest $1.4tn in the US over 10 years, while Qatar is expected to set out its pledge later this week.
Qatar has also offered Trump a $400m plane as a replacement for Air Force One. The President has said the plane would be a temporary solution following delays with a Boeing aircraft. Democrats have nonetheless branded the gift as corruption and a potential violation of the US constitution.
Gulf states are hoping to deepen ties with the US after perceived lacklustre support from Washington during Trump’s first term.
