The Saudi Crown to meet Trump in Washington next month

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet US President Donald Trump during a visit to Washington next month.

Bin Salman will begin a three-day visit on November 17 and will hold talks with Trump the following day.

The two are expected to discuss a number of political, economic, and security issues, according to the same source.

The visit came days after a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, brokered by Trump and praised by Saudi Arabia, went into effect.

This will be the Saudi Crown Prince’s first visit to the United States since 2018.

The visit came days after a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, brokered by Trump and welcomed by Saudi Arabia, went into effect.

Media reports indicated that Saudi Arabia is seeking to conclude a security agreement with Washington, after the United States pledged to provide security guarantees to Qatar in early October, following an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in September.

Trump toured the Gulf states in May, during which Saudi Arabia welcomed him warmly.

He received massive promises of Saudi investments and purchases, particularly in the defense and artificial intelligence sectors, according to the White House.

The US President and the Saudi Crown Prince signed agreements estimated by the US government to be worth approximately $600 billion, as part of a strategic economic partnership between the two countries.

During his visit to Riyadh, Trump also expressed his great hope that Saudi Arabia would establish relations with Israel within the framework of the Abraham Accords signed by the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco in 2020 during his first term.

Prior to the war that erupted following an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Saudi Arabia was conducting negotiations with Israel, mediated by the United States, regarding the normalization of its relations with Israel in exchange for security guarantees.

However, negotiations stalled with the outbreak of the Gaza war.

Riyadh links the move to the establishment of a Palestinian state, making the possibility of reaching an agreement between the two countries unlikely in the current context.

Saudi Arabia has led efforts in support of a Palestinian state, including co-chairing a conference with France at the United Nations in September, during which a number of Western countries recognized the State of Palestine.