 "Trump's overseas trip to focus on investment deals in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE")
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he expects to visit Saudi Arabia as early as May to sign an investment pact, his first overseas trip of his second term, with visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“It could be next month, maybe a little later,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Mid-May was being considered as the trip’s timeframe, according to four sources briefed on the subject. During his first term in 2017, Trump began his maiden international tour with stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Trump reiterated remarks he made in early March, saying his trip to Saudi Arabia would seal an agreement to invest upwards of $1 trillion in the U.S. economy, including purchases of military equipment.
He suggested similar agreements would be signed in Qatar and the UAE.
“Tremendous jobs will be created in those two or three days,” Trump said. The president did not elaborate on the specifics of the deals.
Other possible topics for discussion include Russia’s three-year-old war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza, according to one source.
Saudi Arabia has taken an active role in US foreign policy, including sponsoring cease-fire negotiations with Russia and Ukraine.
“An opportunity for international travel for the president is something that is being looked at. We don’t yet have a specific plan, and we will provide that information when it is official,” a White House official said ahead of Trump’s remarks.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsLast week, Trump vowed to add more countries to the Abraham Accords, the series of normalization agreements his administration negotiated between Israel and some Gulf countries during his first term.
Trump said more countries want to join the accords. While the White House has singled out Saudi Arabia as a possible participant in the accords, the Saudis have qualms about Israel due to the Gaza war.
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