U.S. President Donald Trump began his first major overseas trip of his second term on Tuesday, arriving in Saudi Arabia. He was welcomed warmly by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The trip will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to France 24. White House announced that, this is a “historic return” to the region, with the main goals being business deals, discussions on Gaza, and talks about Iran. Focus on business deals “The president will focus on deals,” said Daniel B. Shapiro from the Atlantic Council. Trump is expected to sign major agreements during his visi

U.S. President Donald Trump began his first major overseas trip of his second term on Tuesday, arriving in Saudi Arabia. He was welcomed warmly by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The trip will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to France 24. White House announced that, this is a “historic return” to the region, with the main goals being business deals, discussions on Gaza, and talks about Iran. Focus on business deals “The president will focus on deals,” said Daniel B. Shapiro from the Atlantic Council. Trump is expected to sign major agreements during his visit. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are preparing royal welcomes for the 78 year old president. Saudi Arabia has already promised $600 billion in trade and investment with the U.S. Trump responded, “I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around one trillion.” A Saudi official said the kingdom wants to buy U.S. F-35 fighter jets and advanced air defence systems. “We will condition that the deliveries take place during Trump’s term,” the official said. Tensions in the region The trip also comes as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Trump’s administration recently helped with a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and a truce with Houthi rebels in Yemen. Talks with Iran also happened in Oman just days ago. Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the president wants to promote “a vision where extremism is defeated in place of commerce and cultural exchanges.” Mixed reactions in Saudi Arabia Not everyone in Saudi Arabia is hopeful about the visit. Khalifa Oneizi, a 47-year-old Riyadh resident, said, “I expect that this visit will result in political decisions that will matter to the whole region.” But another local, Hamad Shahrani, 62, said, “I am not optimistic about this visit or its results.” While there have been talks in the past about Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel, that is not likely to happen on this trip. Saudi leaders say they want to see a Palestinian state first. A new controversy has started over Trump accepting a luxury Boeing plane from Qatar to use as Air Force One. Critics are calling it unethical, but Trump defended the move. “It’s a very public and transparent transaction,” he said. “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer.”

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