(Washington, D.C.) U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday at the White House, during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, that Saudi Arabia has been designated a key non-NATO ally, elevating military cooperation between the two countries to a new level.
Mohammed bin Salman visited the White House on Tuesday (November 18) to meet with Trump. This was Mohammed bin Salman's first visit to the U.S. in seven years.
At a dinner hosted for Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday evening, Trump said, "We are officially designating Saudi Arabia as a key non-NATO ally, elevating our military cooperation to a new level, which is very important to them."
Trump confirmed that Saudi Arabia will sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and is working on obtaining export licenses for advanced chips.
Mohammed bin Salman announced that Saudi investment in the U.S. will be increased to $1 trillion (approximately S$1.3 trillion), while emphasizing Saudi Arabia's huge demand for computing power and its desire to obtain advanced U.S.-made chips. He also said that Saudi Arabia plans to invest approximately $50 billion in the semiconductor sector in the near future.
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According to a White House briefing released Wednesday, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed the US-Saudi Strategic Defense Agreement (US-Saudi Strategic Defense Agreement) that day, along with a series of documents covering areas such as civilian nuclear energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and capital markets. The US allows Saudi Arabia to use US AI systems and agreed to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia will purchase nearly 300 US tanks and invest nearly $1 trillion in US infrastructure, technology, and industry.
The two countries also agreed to cooperate on reducing non-tariff barriers and improving the investment environment.
Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi-Israeli Diplomatic Relations Prerequisite is Ensuring Palestinian Statehood
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mohammed bin Salman reiterated on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel is predicated on a "clear path" to ensuring Palestinian statehood.
Meeting with Trump alongside the media that day, Mohammed bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia hopes for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East and is willing to participate in the Abraham Accords initiated during Trump's first term, but only if a "clear path" to Palestinian statehood is guaranteed.
At a press conference that day, Trump was clearly unwilling to discuss the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi seven years ago. He insisted that Mohammed had "no knowledge" of the incident and rebuked reporters, saying, "There's no need to ask such questions; it embarrasses our guests."
The murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi columnist for The Washington Post, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 sparked an international uproar and strained US-Saudi relations.
The US and Saudi Arabia will hold an investment summit in Washington on Wednesday (19th) Eastern Time. According to US media reports, the two sides may sign cooperation agreements in areas such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, infrastructure, energy, and financial services.
According to documents seen by Reuters, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are invited guests to Wednesday's investment summit. Musk and Huang were also invited to a lavish dinner hosted by Trump for Mohammed on Tuesday evening.
Earlier this year, Musk's relationship with Trump broke down due to a heated disagreement over government deficit spending. Musk's return to the White House indicates that his strained relationship with Trump has thawed.
