Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and US President Donald Trump consolidated on Tuesday the cooperation between their countries as they took part in the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh.
Crown Prince Mohammed said joint work between Riyadh and Washington is not limited to economic cooperation, but extends to achieving security and peace in the region and world.
Trump said a “great dawn” was awaiting the Middle East and that the leaders of the region are capable of seizing this opportunity, remarking that Saudi Arabia was at the “center of the world.”
Crown Prince Mohammed said economic ties between Saudi Arabia and the US have been deep-rooted for over 90 years, starting with their energy cooperation and now extending to knowledge and innovation.
Saudi Arabia is the United States’ biggest economic partner in the region and joint investments are the foundations of the economic relations between them, he added.
The size of the partnership between the amounts to 600 billion dollars and agreements announced at the forum have reached 300 billion dollars, he remarked. Forty percent of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s investments are poured into the US.
Moreover, Crown Prince Mohammed stressed that Saudi Vision 2030 succeeded in achieving an unprecedented economic transformation aimed at diversifying the economy and empowering the private sector.
For his part, Trump said: “We're still just at the dawn of the bright new day that awaits the people of the Middle East if the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside differences and focus on the interests that unite the people.”
He added that he would not hesitate to use military force to defend “our allies and friends” in Saudi Arabia, expressing his appreciation for the Kingdom’s role in the talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Crown Prince Mohammed, he continued, is the best example of Washington’s strong allies and Riyadh was on its way to becoming the center of world business.
On Gaza, Trump said its people deserve a “much better future” and that the US is working on stopping the “horrible” war there.
“We wouldn't have had the problems of October 7th if I were president. We wouldn't have had Ukraine, Russia, if I were president,” he said, reiterating similar assertions he had made in the past. “The West should not be dragging itself backward into another endless war in Europe.”
On Lebanon, Trump said it “has been endlessly victimized by Hezbollah and their sponsor, Iran,” adding that his “administration stands ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors.”
Turning to Iran, he warned that if its “leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero, like I did before.”
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he vowed.
On the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen, he criticized the Biden administration for removing them from the terrorism list. Trump blacklisted them again when he became president.
The United States military launched more than 1,100 strikes on the Houthis in Yemen, which has forced them to stop targeting American ships in the Red Sea, he added.
Turning to his Saudi hosts, Trump praised the warm reception accorded to him by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz eight years ago, saying he will never forget it.
“The graciousness of the royal family and the Saudi people is really unsurpassed no matter where you go,” he stressed.
He hailed the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed, adding that he admires him for his leadership of the new and modern Middle East.
