US President Trump (left) talks with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (middle), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (second from right) and British Prime Minister Theresa May smile in a family photo The G20 Summit held in Osaka on June 28, 2019. via Getty Images)
Kim Kyung-hoon | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday touted Saudi Arabia’s pledge to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, while suggesting the figure should actually be higher.
“There were also reports in the newspapers today that Saudi Arabia is going to invest at least $600 billion in the United States,” Trump told the audience via video call in Davos, noting the significance of foreign companies’ plans to invest in the country. announcement.
“But I would ask the crown prince, who is a great man, to round it up to about a trillion. I think they will do that because we have been very good to them,” he said, referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Salman.
Saudi Arabia’s official Saudi Press Agency published details of a call between the crown prince and Trump on Thursday, in which the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia congratulated the U.S. president on his inauguration and the two discussed bilateral relations.
Bin Salman told Trump that he expected the reforms planned by the incoming government “to create unprecedented economic prosperity” and that “the kingdom seeks to benefit from existing cooperation and investment opportunities,” according to a Google translation of the report. .
Saudi Arabia reported that the crown prince said “Saudi Arabia hopes to expand investment and trade relations with the United States by $600 billion over the next four years, and this number is expected to increase if more opportunities arise.”
Days earlier, Trump said on Monday that his first overseas trip of his new term would likely be to Saudi Arabia, as he did when he first became president in 2017.
According to the Associated Press, Trump told the media at the White House: “The first foreign trip is usually to the United Kingdom, but…last time I went with Saudi Arabia because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or $500 – and we would raise the price because of inflation – I think I would probably go. “
Trump and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince have had a notoriously cordial relationship, although that relationship collapsed over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Trump’s threats to OPEC, demanding Saudi Arabia pumps more oil to drive down global crude prices.
Following Trump’s re-election, foreign countries and companies made a series of investment commitments, including SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son pledges to invest US$100 billion US Artificial Intelligence and Dating Center Project, and Planned United Arab Emirates real estate company Damac invests $20 billion Invest in America Data Center
