The US and Saudi Arabia signed a mammoth arms deal Tuesday that the White House called the largest "in history" amid a raft of agreements inked by Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.
"The United States and Saudi Arabia signed the largest defence sales agreement in history -- nearly $142 billion, providing Saudi Arabia with state-of-the-art warfighting equipment," the White House said in a statement.
The White House said Saudi Arabia was set to invest $600 billion in the United States, including the largest defence sales agreement between the allies, worth nearly $142 billion.
"I really believe we like each other a lot," Trump said during a meeting in Riyadh with the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.
Trump, who is accompanied by a host of U.S. business leaders including billionaire Elon Musk, will go on from Riyadh to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington's priorities, and the focus of the trip is on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East.
"While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have expanded and multiplied many, many times over," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said as he opened the forum.
"As a result ... when Saudis and Americans join forces very good things happen, more often than not great things happen when those joint ventures happen," he said before Trump's arrival.
In a meeting at the Royal Court, Trump called the Saudi crown prince a friend and said they have a good relationship, according to a pool report from the Wall Street Journal.
Trump recalled travelling to the kingdom in 2017 and said Saudi investment would help create jobs in the US
He said jokingly that a $600-billion investment pledge by Saudi Arabia could be $1 trillion, repeating a figure he has cited before as he seeks investment from an important strategic partner.
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