Trump starts Gulf visit seeking big economic deals

Riyadh: US President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to start a four-day swing through the Gulf region, focusing more on economic deals than security crises ranging from war in Gaza to the threat of escalation over Iran's nuclear program.

With a who's who of powerful American business leaders in tow, including Tesla CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk, he will first visit Riyadh, site of a Saudi-US Investment Forum, and go to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday but is not visiting Israel.

"While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have expanded and multiplied many, many times over," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said as he opened the forum.

"As a result ... when Saudis and Americans join forces very good things happen, more often than not great things happen when those join ventures happen," he said before Trump's arrival.

The Saudi-US investment forum began with a video showing soaring eagles and falcons, celebrating the long history between the United States and the kingdom.

At the front of a palatial hall sat Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, Stephen A. Schwartzman, CEO of Blackstone, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan and Khalid.

Speaking at a forum panel as Trump touched down in Riyadh, Fink said he had visited Saudi Arabia more than 65 times over 20 years. He said the kingdom had been a follower when he first started visiting but was now "taking control" and broadening its economy out of its oil base.

Saudi Arabia and the US have maintained strong ties for decades based on an ironclad arrangement in which the kingdom delivers oil and the superpower provides security.

Saudi F-15 fighter jets appeared on both sides of Air Force One, cruising along in close proximity to accompany Trump into the kingdom, according to a pool report from a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Trump has also said he may travel on Thursday to Turkey for potential face-to-face talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Trump's second foreign trip since returning to the presidency - his first was to Rome for Pope Francis' funeral - comes at a time of geopolitical tension.

In addition to pressing for a settlement in Ukraine, his administration is pushing for a new aid mechanism for Gaza after 19 months of war and urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree a new ceasefire deal there.

Over the weekend, US and Iranian negotiators met in Oman to discuss a potential deal to curb Tehran's nuclear program. Trump has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.

Apart from the possible Turkey side trip, those matters are not the focus of Trump's Middle East swing as now scheduled.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are expected to announce investments that could run into the trillions. Saudi Arabia already committed in January to $600 billion in investments in the United States over the next four years, but Trump has said he will ask for a full trillion.

Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are travelling with the president.

Trump is expected to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than $100 billion, sources told Reuters. This could include a range of advanced weapons including C-130 transport aircraft.

The US and Saudi Arabia are expected to avoid the topic of normalisation between Riyadh and Israel altogether, sources told Reuters, even as it is Trump's most enduring geopolitical goal in the region.

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said last week he expected progress imminently on expanding the Abraham Accords, a set of deals brokered by Trump in his first term by which Arab states including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco recognised Israel.

But opposition by Netanyahu to a permanent stop to the war in Gaza or to the creation of a Palestinian state makes progress on similar talks with Riyadh unlikely, sources told Reuters.

Trump's second and third stops, in Qatar and the UAE, are similarly expected to focus on economic issues.

Qatar's royal family is expected to gift Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane to be outfitted for use as Air Force One, an arrangement that has drawn scrutiny from ethics experts.

Trump is expected to donate the plane to his presidential library for use after his term ends.