US President Donald Trump (L) speaks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May smile during a family photo session at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo credit should read KIM KYUNG-HOON/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 1:05 PM – Friday, January 24, 2025
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, declared that the kingdom intends to invest at least $600 billion in the United States over the next four years.
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The custom of U.S. presidents making their first foreign trip to the UK was broken by Trump’s previous 2017 visit to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Press Agency, which is owned by the Saudi government, stated early on Thursday that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves his nation as prime minister, made the remarks during a phone conversation with Trump.
“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, and potentially beyond that,” the report stated.
Yet, where those investments and trade would be made was not explained in detail in the readout.
Once the cornerstone of their alliance for decades, Saudi oil shipments have been less crucial to the United States in recent years. In addition to expressing an interest in sports teams and athletes, Saudi sovereign wealth funds have made significant investments in American companies.
“Saudi Arabia does, however, rely predominantly on U.S.-made weapons and defense systems, which could be a part of the investment,” The Hill reported.
The two leaders “discussed efforts to bring stability to the Middle East, bolster regional security, and combat terrorism,” according to a White House statement discussing the call.
“Additionally, they discussed the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s international economic ambitions over the next four years as well as trade and other opportunities to increase the mutual prosperity of the United State and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the statement noted, without elaborating.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also reportedly had a conversation with the crown prince, who is the de facto head of the oil-rich nation.
Trump mentioned returning to the kingdom on his first foreign trip, as he did in 2017, on Monday following his inauguration as well.
“The first foreign trip typically has been with the U.K. but … I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products,” Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or $500—we’ll up it for all the inflation—I think I’d probably go.”
Despite this, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday, “I am not aware of any plans at this time,” regarding a possible trip to Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, the Saudi Kingdom and the Biden administration had reportedly been discussing a broader agreement to diplomatically recognize Israel in exchange for defense protections and other assistance from the United States.
This week, Trump also hinted that he might be able to increase the overall amount of the proposed Saudi investment even further during his remarks to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday.
“I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion,” Trump said by a video call. “I think they’ll do that because we’ve been very good to them.”
🚨 TRUMP: “Saudi Arabia will be investing $600B in America but I will be asking the Crown Prince to round it out to $1T because he’s a great guy.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/jYUi4AlRWo
