Trump to host bin Salman with ceremonies, deals.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that the trip is not an official state visit, but the White House is preparing to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with similar formalities.
The Saudi crown prince’s White House schedule will begin on Tuesday with a welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn, according to a senior White House official.
Trump will then host the Saudi crown prince in the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting, followed by a signing ceremony and lunch in the State Department, the official said.
The trip is billed as an “official working visit,” but the Saudi crown prince is not considered head of state, the official said.
On Wednesday, dozens of CEOs are scheduled to attend a meeting of the U.S.-Saudi Business Council at the Kennedy Center, an arts center now run by Trump loyalists. Although the US president’s attendance has not yet been confirmed, a senior White House official said he is likely to attend.
Trump’s ties with the Gulf states have been a top foreign policy priority during his second term.
His first major foreign trip was to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, where he was greeted by a special escort of Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jets and a state dinner at a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“I really believe we love each other very much,” Trump said during a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman at the royal palace in Riyadh. He later described the Saudi crown prince as a “great man” and a “friend.”
The US president said on the trip that he was considering a deal to sell Saudi Arabia F-35 stealth fighter jets, which are made by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N).
“This is more than a meeting; we respect Saudi Arabia,” Trump told reporters when asked about the talks.
He also expressed hope that Saudi Arabia would soon join the Abraham Accords, a compromise agreement with Israel that seeks to normalize relations between Israel and several Muslim-majority countries.
Riyadh has so far insisted that it would not do so without an agreement on a roadmap for the creation of a Palestinian state.
The trip is also the crown prince’s first visit to the United States since the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 during Trump’s first term.
The Associated Press added that U.S. intelligence agencies have said that Mohammed bin Salman likely ordered the killing, a matter that led to sanctions on several Saudi officials. He has denied any involvement, and both the Trump and Biden administrations have since worked to repair ties with Saudi Arabia.