Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said on Thursday that the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion (€576 billion) in the United States over the next four years after a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s comments come after Trump mused about returning to Saudi Arabia as his first foreign trip back in office.
State-run Saudi Press Agency said, “the crown prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion (€576 bn), and potentially beyond that.”
During their conversation, the two also reportedly discussed ways the two countries could cooperate to establish peace, security and stability in the Middle East.
There was no immediate response from the White House regarding the call. It also wasn’t clear whether Trump’s call with the crown prince was his first with a foreign leader since returning to the Oval Office.
However, it was his first reported abroad.
Trump’s relationship with Saudi Arabia
After his inauguration, Trump talked about the possibility of heading to the kingdom again as his first foreign trip, like he did in 2017.
“The first foreign trip typically has been with the UK but… I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion (€429 bn) worth of our products,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.
“I think I’d probably go (again),” the recently inaugurated leader said.
In recent years, the US has increasingly pulled away from relying on Saudi oil exports — once the bedrock the relationship between the two nations.
Trump maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia, even after the crown prince was embroiled in controversy after he was implicated in the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
The billion dollar pledge, which dwarves the gross domestic product of many nations, comes as the kingdom faces budgetary pressures of its own. Global oil prices remain depressed years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, affecting the kingdom’s revenues.
Meanwhile, the crown prince has continued to invest in NEOM, a new city in the Saudi Arabian desert. The country also needs to build tens of billions of dollar’s worth of new stadiums and infrastructure ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which it is hosting.
