Riyadh to Invest $600b in US, per Official Saudi Media

Photo Credit: White House Photo/Shealah Craighead

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the White House, on March 14, 2017.

(JNS) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s indication to U.S. President Donald Trump that the kingdom will invest $600 billion in the United States is good news for Israel, Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, told JNS.

“Saudi-Israeli normalization prospects are more closely tethered to the U.S.-Saudi economic and defense relationship than advancement in the Palestinian track,” Diker said.

Trump held the first call of his second term with the Saudi crown prince, per a White House readout of the call on Wednesday. “The two leaders discussed efforts to bring stability to the Middle East, bolster regional security and combat terrorism,” the White House said.

“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 States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” it added.

The Saudi Press Agency, an official state publication, stated that the crown prince and U.S. president “ discussed ways for cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism.”

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,” per the Saudi readout.

Diker told JNS that “this indicates Trump’s deep interest in enhancing Saudi-U.S. economic partnership and ‘normalization,’ which can be a welcome development for Israel following four years of Saudi hesitation, particularly in the wake of the Iran-backed Hamas massacres of Oct. 7.”

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) wrote on Wednesday that he was “grateful” that the Saudi crown prince was the first foreign leader Trump called.

“A strong message to an essential partner and friend for 80 years,” Wilson stated. “Unlike Biden, President Trump will not abandon our friends.” He added that U.S.-Saudi ties are “crucial” to world stability and countering the Iranian regime.

On Monday, Trump quipped that his first overseas trip could be to Riyadh. 

“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 told 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.”