White House: Trump to visit Saudi Arabia and several Arab Gulf state in May

Donald Trump is preparing to visit Saudi Arabia and several Gulf states in mid-May, making Riyadh, as in his previous term, his first foreign destination as US president.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the visit to Saudi Arabia could take place in the middle of next month or a little later, and he also expressed his desire to visit Qatar, stressing that a visit to the UAE was also very important.

Trump’s announcement of his visit comes at a time of extreme regional sensitivity, highlighted by the resumption of the Israeli war on Gaza.

The US media also focused on the economic dimension of the visit, especially after Riyadh confirmed its desire to strengthen trade relations with Washington through billions of dollars in investments.

Axios quoted US and Israeli officials as saying that at this stage, plans to reach a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia have been postponed, due to Riyadh’s requirement of establishing an independent Palestinian state, a requirement which Israel rejects.

Upon assuming office, Trump was asked whether he would choose Saudi Arabia as his first foreign destination, as he had done during his previous term, and he explained that he had stipulated that the KSA invest $1 trillion to do so.

Trump asserted, “Last time they offered $450 billion… I said I’ll go if you offer $1 trillion for American companies, meaning buying $1 trillion over four years, and they agreed to do that, so I’m going there”.

According to Axios, the president Trump’s visit was discussed on the sidelines of the Ukrainian-US talks held in Saudi Arabia last month.

In this context, a White House source told Axios that the talks will focus on foreign investment, strengthening relations with the Gulf states, and ending the conflict in the Middle East.