US President Donald Trump, Saudi crown prince ink major deals

(From left) Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is greeted by US President Donald Trump at an official dinner in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia finalised a series of "landmark agreements" that deepen the US-Saudi "strategic partnership".

Trump approved a major defence sale package, "including future F-35 deliveries, which strengthens the US defence industrial base and ensures Saudi Arabia continues to buy American. The President secured an agreement for Saudi Arabia to purchase nearly 300 American tanks, enabling Saudi Arabia to build up its own defence capabilities and safeguarding hundreds of American jobs," the White House said.

Salman's announcement of $1 trillion in the US marks a sharp rise from the $600 billion pledge made during President Trump's visit to Riyadh earlier this year, as per the White House.

A key outcome of the meetings was the Joint Declaration on Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperation, which lays the foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar nuclear energy partnership with the Saudi Kingdom. The agreement confirms that US companies will be Saudi Arabia's preferred partners for nuclear energy projects.

Washington and Riyadh also signed a Critical Minerals Framework to diversify and secure mineral supply chains, and a landmark AI Memorandum of Understanding, which grants Saudi Arabia access to top-tier American artificial intelligence systems while placing safeguards to prevent foreign misuse of US technology.

Trump and bin Salman also signed the US-Saudi Strategic Defence Agreement (SDA), aimed at strengthening defence cooperation and enhancing regional deterrence. The deal includes arrangements designed to boost the US defence industrial base and makes it easier for US defence firms to operate in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, the Saudi leader received a reception befitting a head of state, with an Army-mounted honour guard, a military flyover of six planes, and cannon salutes on the White House South Lawn as he arrived at the White House. Trump then walked his guest along the newly created ‘Presidential Walk of Fame' outside the West Wing before the two walked into the Oval Office.

300
No. of US-made tanks Saudi Arabia will purchase

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