Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman informed President Donald Trump on January 22 that his country will spend $600 billion in the United States over the next four years to improve commercial relations.
During a phone call, Prince Mohammed congratulated Trump on his inauguration and stated that his kingdom intends to increase its investments in the United States during Trump's four-year administration.
According to a translation from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the crown prince stated that the $600 billion investment may be increased if new possibilities materialize, but he did not indicate where the funds would be allocated.
The ministry stated that Trump's promised reforms in the United States will result in "unprecedented economic prosperity."
The White House stated that their talk included measures to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, strengthen regional security, and combat terrorism.
It was Trump's first phone discussion with a foreign leader since returning to the White House on Monday, according to an official readout from the White House.
“Additionally, they discussed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s international economic ambitions over the next four years as well as trade and other opportunities to increase the mutual prosperity of the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the readout states.
Before their meeting, Trump told reporters on Monday that he would consider visiting Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit if it agreed to buy $500 billion in American goods.
“The first foreign trip typically has been with the UK but I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or 500, we’ll up it for all the inflation, I think I’d probably go.”
On Thursday, Trump said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Switzerland that he might ask Saudi Arabia to increase its planned investment in the United States to around $1 trillion.
“I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion,” he said by videocall. “I think they’ll do that because we’ve been very good to them.”
Prince Mohammed also talked with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on January 22. Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesman, stated that they addressed Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and "the threats posed by Iran and its proxies."
“They also discussed the benefits of the U.S.-Saudi economic partnership and the opportunities to grow their economies in a variety of fields including AI,” Bruce said in a statement.
In an interview with Bloomberg at the WEF, Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan stated that the oil-rich country already had active investments worth more than $770 million in America.
Saudi Arabia sold around $248.4 billion in petroleum products in 2023, according to figures supplied by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. That accounted for around 67% of the value of its total exports that year.
The U.S. According to the Energy Information Agency, 52 percent of the oil imported into the United States in 2023 came from Canada, with Mexico accounting for 11 percent. Saudi Arabia contributed for only 5% of total oil imports.
Prince Mohammed was linked to the 2018 murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. A 2021 report from the United States. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the crown prince approved an operation to kidnap or murder Khashoggi.
Riyadh denied that the crown prince was involved.
Last year, the Trump Organization announced a collaboration with Saudi-owned developer Dar Global to create a new Trump Tower in Saudi Arabia.
