US President Donald Trump on Tuesday designated Saudi Arabia as major non-NATO ally as the US plans to elevate military relationship with the Kingdom. The announcement of the decision by the US President came as he hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a black-tie dinner at the White House.
Trump said, "Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that we're taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them."
Crown Prince increases $600 billion Saudi investment in US
Earlier, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced that he was increasing the $600 billion Saudi investment that he promised Trump when the US president visited the country in May.
“We can announce that we are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion for investment,” Prince Mohammed said in the Oval Office.
Trump warmly welcomes Saudi Crown Prince
Earlier in the day, Trump held a warm and friendly meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the White House, packed with plenty of handshakes and back pats. He brushed aside questions about Saudi Arabia's human rights record, praised the prince for his statesmanship and announced hundreds of billions of dollars in new Saudi investment in the United States.
The White House rolled out plenty of pomp for the Saudi royal on Tuesday, dispatching fighter jets that the two leaders watched from a red carpet, parading out an honor guard on horseback and preparing to give a lavish dinner in the East Room.
In a sitdown in the Oval Office that took place just seven years after Prince Mohammad was implicated by US intelligence agencies in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump and the prince took numerous questions from reporters — one of whom was repeatedly insulted by Trump — on everything from commerce to the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Riyadh.
Trump greets Saudi Crown Prince at the White House's
Trump greeted Prince Mohammed at the White House's South Lawn entrance with a handshake and arm slung over the prince's shoulder. Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for the Saudi leader, with a military band on hand and a flyover by US military planes, before showing the crown prince his decorations along the White House Colonnade.
“We have an extremely respected man in the Oval Office today,” Trump said at the top of meeting, calling the prince “a friend of mine for a very long time.” He also castigated his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for greeting Prince Mohammed with a fist bump during his 2022 visit to Saudi Arabia.
“When you get out of the plane and you get the future king — and a man who is one of the most respected people in the world — you shake his hand, you don't give him a fist bump, right?” Trump said. “Trump doesn't give a fist bump. I grab that hand” — and he did just that.
Also Read:
