Trump in the Middle East: How much are US Gulf investments worth? | Donald Trump News

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, started his Middle East Tour with the arrival in Riad, Saudi Arabia, shortly after 10 a.m., where he was welcomed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).

During his three -day trip, he will also travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (VAE), whereby the focus is on ensuring business agreements with three of the richest nations in the world.

The trip will include discussions about investment opportunities, and some experts say Trump could ask the golf people to reduce oil prices.

When will Trump visit every country?

Trump arrived on Tuesday shortly before 10 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m.) in Riad, Saudi Arabia, where he was welcomed by MBS. On the same day, he is said to take part in a Saudi-US investment forum that contains leading companies such as Blackrock, Citigroup, Palantir, Qualcomm and Alphabet.

On Wednesday he is scheduled to take part in a Gulf summit in Riad before traveling to Qatar later that day. He will complete his trip to VAE on Thursday, May 15th.

Trump's first visit as President was Saudi Arabia

During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump was the first US president to make the Middle East his first international goal, and broke with the long -term tradition of first visiting neighboring North American countries.

His trip to Saudi Arabia from May 20 to 22, 2017, in which he took part in the Riyadh summit -was a calculated change to strengthen the defense bonds and secure considerable weapons.

During this trip, Trump also visited Israel and Palestine.

While Trump did not go to Qatar or the United Arab Emirates during his first term, he met the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the king of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa and the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the Riyadh-Summit.

During the summit, Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud signed a weapon contract of $ 110 billion, including rocket defense systems, tanks, combat ships and cyber security technology, with the intention of buying weapons worth $ 350 billion.

A memorable moment from this trip to Saudi Arabia in 2017 was during the inauguration of the global center to combat extremist ideology in Riad. In a surreal photo that quickly became viral, Trump stood on a shining ball with his hands with King Salman and President El-Sisi.

What is the value of US Gulf investments?

Sami al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs of Istanbul Zaim University, told Al Jazeera that Trump had gone very loudly about his destination when visiting the three Gulf States: investments.

Trump's management has reportedly discussed the opportunity to accelerate the investments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates before his trip to the region.

“He tries to get trillion dollars out of these countries,” Al-Sian told Al Jazera.

“He has already said that he hopes to receive 1 trillion dollar from Saudi Arabia with regard to weapon sales and commercial offers,” he said.

US SAUDI investment

According to the latest data from the US Ministry of Trade, the overall confirmation of the US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia reached $ 11.3 billion in 2023.

Conversely, the FDI share in Saudi -Arabia in the USA was $ 9.6 billion, mainly in transport, real estate, plastics, automotive, financial services and communication, according to the trade department.

These figures are only FDI, no other systems such as portfolio investments or short -term financial flows.

US Qatar investment

In 2023, the total stock of the US FDI in Qatar was estimated at $ 2.5 billion.

According to the US Qatar Business Council, US companies that have facilitated the FDIs in Qatar focused on the areas of energy, petrochemical, construction, engineering and communication technology.

Conversely, the Qatarian FDI shares in the United States achieved $ 3.3 billion in 2023, with investments in financial services, energy and real estate concentrated.

US UAE investments

In 2023, the total stock of the US FDI in the VAE reached $ 16.1 billion.

According to the Reuters News Agency, the most important FDI drivers were the FDI drivers, financial and insurance, construction and wholesale and retail trade sectors in 2023.

In the meantime, the VAE FDI shares in the United States in 2023, according to the trade department in the area of ​​financial services, means of transport, food and drinks, aerospace and business services.

In March, the National Security Advisor of the VAE, Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Trump and put 1.4 trillion US dollars in investments in the USA for over 10 years in sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor, energy and production.

Arms trade between the nations

The United States is the largest exporter of weapons worldwide and a top supplier for Goländer.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia each made 6.8 percent of global weapon imports for 2020-24 and made them the third and fourth largest importers worldwide.

The United Arab Emirates are the 11th largest weapon importer and make up 2.6 percent of global imports for the same period.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), Saudi Arabia is the main recipient of the US weapons. Between 2020 and 2024, Saudi Arabia received 12 percent of the United States' total weapon exports.

About 74 percent of Saudi weapon imports come from the United States.

Trump is ready to offer Saudi Arabia a weapon package worth more than $ 100 billion during his trip, said Reuters.

In the period from 2020 to 24, the United States was the top weapon supplier of Qatar and accounted for 48 percent of its imports.

In March, the US State Department approved a large weapon package for Qatar worth $ 2 billion, which includes long-term maritime surveillance drones and hundreds of rockets and bombs.

During the same period, the United States was also the top provider of weapons in the VAE and accounted for 42 percent of the country's weapon imports.