JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be at the White House on November 18 for an official working visit with United States President Donald Trump, a White House official said on Monday.
The visit comes as Trump pushes Saudi Arabia to join the list of nations that have joined the Abraham Accords. In 2020, Trump reached deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco to normalise relations with Israel.
The Saudis have been hesitant to join in the absence of steps toward Palestinian statehood.
Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he believed the Saudis would ultimately join the accords.
The US president also said earlier this month that he expected an expansion of the Abraham Accords soon and hoped Saudi Arabia would join the pact. In August, he also stressed the importance of Middle Eastern countries joining the accords.
Trump and the crown prince may also discuss a US-Saudi defence agreement. The Financial Times reported two weeks ago that there were hopes the two countries could sign such an agreement during Salman’s visit.
A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that “there are discussions about signing something when the crown prince comes, but details are in flux“.
The Saudis have sought formal US guarantees to defend the kingdom as well as access to more advanced US weaponry.
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest customers for US arms, and the two countries have maintained strong ties for decades based on an arrangement in which the kingdom delivers oil and Washington provides security.
During Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May, the US agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion. Trump had also welcomed a promise by Salman, for $600 billion in investment and quipped that it should be $1 trillion.
