Trump Closes Trillions of Dollars of Deals During Gulf Tour
On 13 May 2025 US President Donald Trump and a delegation comprising of Who Who’s among US corporates undertook a tour of Gulf states in the Arabian Peninsula. Trump signed a series of deals including a USD 600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia as well as a USD 142 billion military package deal for Saudi Arabia, which Trump trumpeted the deal as ‘the largest defense deal ever!’
While in Saudi Arabia, President had meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also attended the Saudi-US Investment Forum and delivered the keynote address. While in Riyadh, he also met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and announced the lifting on sanctions on Syria.
The USA and Saudi Arabia concluded a Strategic Economic Partnership covering defense, energy, mining and space. A portion of #FDI from Saudi Arabia will go toward #AI and it is estimated the investment will create up to 2 million jobs in the US.
Arriving in Qatar on 14 May 2025, Trump announced that a USD 244 billion deal between Boeing and Qatar Airways for 210 passenger jets. Qatar even offered a brand new plane to Trump be used as Air Force One, raising eyebrows amid ethical, legal and security concerns.
As Qatar has the 3rd largest proven reserves of natural gas in the world, the US firm McDermott is reinforcing its partnership with Qatar Energy to advance critical energy infrastructure to the tune of USD 8.5 billion. Altogether, the US and Qatar signed agreements worth USD 1.2 trillion in economic exchange.
In UAE, Trump touted the US-UAE partnership to cement the UAE a an #AI hub for the region and the world based on a commitment by UAE to invest a whopping USD 1.4 trillion in the USA. As part of the plan, the two countries will jointly build a massive AI campus with data centers up to 5GW of capacity in the next few years.
Overall, Trump racked up multi-trillion deals during his whirlwind tour of the Gulf countries. He was accorded a welcome fit for a King, reminiscent of the Arabian Nights. The absence of long-time ally Israel in the itinerary did not go unnoticed. Trump vowed to leave no stone unturned to resolve conflicts which are pulling the region down.