Saudi FM in US Discusses Regional Issues Ahead of Trump’s First Foreign Trip

Washington D.C.: A high-level Saudi diplomat has arrived in the United States to prepare for a significant upcoming visit by the US President. According to a Saudi government source on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan is in Washington to lay the groundwork for the US President’s trip to Riyadh. This visit is anticipated to be the first foreign engagement of his second term in office.  

The US President hinted last month at a potential trip to Saudi Arabia as early as April. This would echo his first term, where the oil-rich kingdom was also his initial destination for an overseas visit back in 2017.  

The source close to the Saudi government stated that Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Washington on Tuesday with the primary goal of “prepare for Trump’s visit to Riyadh”. The agenda for the Saudi Foreign Minister also includes discussions on the “developments in Gaza, Yemen and Syria”. The official Saudi Press Agency reported that Prince Faisal is scheduled to meet with his US counterpart, Senator Marco Rubio, to discuss “key regional and international developments”.  

Earlier in January, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to invest a substantial $600 billion in US trade and investments.  

Following this, the US President indicated that Saudi Arabia had agreed to “spend close to a trillion dollars in our American companies, which to me means jobs”. During his previous term, the US President cultivated close ties with Riyadh, and it is widely expected that a major foreign policy objective of his will be to encourage Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel.