President Donald Trump is making big hits with his first trip as abroad since his election as president of the United States as he signed $110bn arms deal in the first country he visited Saudi Arabia today.
“This package of defence equipment and services support the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats,” the White House said on Saturday.
It will also bolster the Saudi Arabia’s “ability to contribute to counter-terrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on the US military to conduct those operations,” according to the White House.
The arms deal has been in the offing but the Obama administration refused to sanctioned it. This is a “win-win” for both countries. “I think this is what both sides are trying to project here: a successful meeting and the US relationship with Saudi Arabia returning to the way it was before President Obama,” says Aljazeera correspondent. “Because certainly the White House says that it feels President Obama ‘abandoned’ Saudi Arabia and this region, and they want the whole world to know that now they are getting things ‘back on track’.”
The White House official described the agreements as “a significant expansion of the over seven-decade-long security relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The president and first lady Melania Trump were welcomed by Saudi King Salman as they disembarked at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday morning.
After a welcoming coffee ceremony, Trump and his entourage were brought to the royal court where the president was awarded the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour.
Before President Trump depart Saudi Arabia, General Electric, GE will also sign agreement and memorandum of understanding worth $15bn. President Trump after Saudi Arabia will visit Israel, West Bank, attend NATO meeting in Brussel, see the Pope and attending G7 summit in Italy
