Donald Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the first leg of a Gulf tour that will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which will consider trade agreements even when the agreements in the critical points of the Middle East will probably be more difficult to reach.
The trip marks the first great visit of the president of the United States abroad of his second term, with the White House saying he expected a “historical return” to the region.
Eight years ago, Trump also chose Saudi Arabia for his first trip abroad as president, when he memorably postponed with a bright orb and participated in a sword dance.
His decision to overlook traditional Western allies once again to travel to the Gulf states rich in oil underlines their increasingly crucial geopolitical role with their own commercial relations in the region.
In the days before the trip, the White House has played an instrumental role in setting a high fire between India and Pakistan, the launch of an American hostage in Gaza and celebrating another round of nuclear conversations with Iran.
These initiatives arrived after a Trump’s surprise announcement last week to accept a truce with the Huthi rebels backed by Iran in Yemen.
– ‘Offers’ –
But the duration of the gulf route will probably be blocking trade agreements.
“White House Sources have indicated that the president will focus on ‘Agreements’,” Daniel B. Shapiro wrote, a distinguished member of the Scowcroft Security initiative of Scowcroft of Scowcroft.
Riad, Doha and Abu Dhabi are expected to extend the red carpet with a luxurious real welcome for the 78 -year -old billionaire.
“The president hopes to embark on his historical return to the Middle East” to promote a vision where “extremism defeats itself instead of trade and cultural exchanges,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, before the trip.
The Gulf States have positioned themselves as the key duration of the diplomatic partners of Trump’s second mandate.
Doha remains an important corridor for negotiations between Hamas and Israel, while Saudi Arabia has facilitated war conversations in Ukraine.
Talking back to the kingdom has been circulating for months, with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabias, the heir prince Mohammed Bin Salman, promises to pour $ 600 billion in the trade and investments of the United States.
“I will ask the heir prince, who is a fantastic guy, to reduce around a billion. I think they will do it because we have a very good leg for them,” Trump said in response to the sacrifice.
According to a Saudi official close to the Ministry of Defense, Riad will press for ensuring the latest F-35 combat planes of the USA.
“We will condition that the deliveries take place the Trump term,” the source told AFP.
– ‘temporary gift –
In the field in Saudi Arabia, residents expressed feelings found about what the trip would mean.
“I hope this visit is in political decisions that will import the entire region,” Khalifa Oneizi, a 47 -year -old Riad resident, told AFP.
Others had less confidence.
“I am not optimistic about this visit or its results,” said Hamad Shahrani, a 62 -year -old Saudi national.
It is likely that efforts to push Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel are not with an outstanding place on the agenda of this trip, with Riad insisting that a Palestinian State must be established before an agreement can be negotiated.
Meanwhile, I will produce a prominent duration of the visit, after a fourth round of conversations in Oman over the weekend.
The controversy is also turning on the president’s plans to accept a luxury jet boeing of the Royal Qatar family for use as Air Force One.
On Sunday night, Trump gets used to the offensive in the middle of a wave of criticism, saying that the plane was a temporary “gift”.
Later he called the agreement “a very public and transparent transaction”, and on Monday he said before leaving Washington for his trip: “It would never be one to reject that child of a sacrifice.”
