Saudi Crown Prince says kingdom intends to invest $600 billion in US during call with Trump

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince said on Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump earlier put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip.

Trump's 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a tradition of US presidents first heading to the United Kingdom as their first trip abroad.

It also underscored his administration's close ties to the Rulers of the Gulf states as his eponymous real estate company has pursued deals across the region as well.

The comments from Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, reported by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, came in a phone call with Trump.

"The Crown Prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that,” the report said.

The readout did not elaborate on where those investments and trade could be placed. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have taken large stakes in American businesses while also looking at sports as well.

Saudi Arabia does, however, rely predominantly on US-made weapons and defence systems, which could be a part of the investment.

There was no immediate readout from the White House on the call. It also wasn’t immediately clear if Trump’s call with the Crown Prince was his first with a foreign leader since re-entering the White House. However, it was the first reported abroad.

The Crown Prince also spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio early on Thursday.

On Monday after his inauguration, Trump talked about possibly heading to the kingdom again as his first foreign trip, like he did in 2017.

"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 told journalists 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.”

Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed also wants to continue his $500 billion project at NEOM, a new city in Saudi Arabia's western desert on the Red Sea. It also will need to build tens of billions of dollars' worth of new stadiums and infrastructure ahead of it hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Associated Press