WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump obtained Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the South Garden of the White Home on Tuesday, marking the Gulf chief’s return to Washington after a seven-year hiatus marked by a nadir in ties between the 2 sides.
Prince Mohammed’s arrival marked the following step within the Trump administration’s effort to deepen Riyadh’s ties with Washington on strategic enterprise and know-how growth.
The US intends to promote fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia which are “fairly comparable” to the extremely superior F-35I Adir fashions supplied to Israel, President Donald Trump mentioned on Tuesday. Learn extra here.
The go to by the Saudi crown prince had all of the showy trappings of a proper go to by a overseas head of state, full with US Military flag bearers on horseback and an overflight by a squadron of US Air Power fighter jets, regardless that Prince Mohammed’s father, King Salman, stays the monarch.
US President Donald Trump (R) and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman watch a flyover of navy plane on the South Garden on the White Home in Washington, DC on Nov. 18, 2025. (Photograph by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP through Getty Pictures)
The Saudi chief pledged to extend the dominion’s US investments to $1 trillion. Learn extra here.
The assembly would additionally coincide with an announcement of US protection gross sales to the dominion, the official mentioned, together with “enhanced cooperation on civil nuclear vitality” for Riyadh.
When requested about the potential for a civil nuclear vitality settlement between the US and Saudi Arabia, Trump informed reporters that whereas it may occur, “It’s not pressing.”
The US president additionally stopped in need of asserting an anticipated bilateral protection pact between the 2 international locations — lengthy sought by the crown prince in response to threats by Iran — although he mentioned that they’d “just about” reached settlement on the prospect.
US President Donald Trump salutes the troops as he waits for the arrival of Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman on the South Garden on the White Home in Washington, DC on Nov. 18, 2025. (Photograph by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP through Getty Pictures)
Prince Mohammed mentioned the dominion needs to hitch the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several other Arab and Muslim-majority states, however it seeks a “clear path to a two-state resolution” earlier than doing so. The Saudi royal added that he had a “wholesome dialogue” with Trump on the matter.
Requested how a lot cash the dominion is planning on contributing to Gaza’s reconstruction, Prince Mohammed mentioned that the talks are ongoing, however “nonetheless, there is not any quantity” recognized as of but. Trump, nevertheless, interjected, saying that “it’s going to be so much.”
On the identical time, the Trump administration is searching for to rehabilitate Prince Mohammed’s picture on the worldwide stage after the 2018 homicide of Washington Put up columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
High among the many deliverables sought by the prince throughout his go to is bigger entry to US-made synthetic intelligence know-how, as his kingdom seeks to diversify its economic system away from dependency on petroleum exports within the coming many years.
The Trump administration greenlit a partnership between US-based chipmaker NVIDIA and a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to construct a number of “AI factories” within the kingdom within the coming years.
Throughout his first deliberate state go to overseas of his second time period in Might, Trump visited Saudi Arabia and introduced that the dominion had pledged a complete of $600 billion in future funding in the US. The Saudi chief right this moment affirmed that the dominion will improve its pledge to $1 trillion “for … actual funding and actual alternative.” Prince Mohammed added that the offers the 2 nations will signal throughout his go to will “facilitate” that improve.
Further Saudi investments consistent with that pledge are anticipated out of the White Home assembly on Tuesday, the senior administration official mentioned, with out providing particulars.
It is a growing story and might be up to date.