(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s lavish welcome of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington this week, touted by many as rehabilitation of human rights record of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, has been followed by the kingdom ramping up its planned U.S. investments to $1 trillion.
The move marks a remarkable increase from the $600 billion that the world’s largest exporter announced during Trump’s visit to Riyadh six month ago. Bin Salman is scheduled to meet top U.S. corporate leaders on Wednesday.
Here are some of the deals and frameworks announced by U.S. and Saudi Arabia this week:
Energy Sector
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed nuclear cooperation pact, laying groundwork for decades-long partnership and ensuring projects meet strict nonproliferation standards with American firms as preferred partners.
Progress on such a nuclear pact, long sought by Bin Salman, has been difficult because the Saudis have resisted a U.S. stipulation that would rule out enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel – both potential paths to a bomb.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday the nuclear deal does not allow enrichment.
Separately, Saudi Aramco said it has signed 17 memoranda of understanding and agreements with major U.S. companies, carrying a potential value of more than $30 billion.
Critical Minerals
Washington and Riyadh inked minerals framework, expanding collaboration to diversify supply chains and bolster U.S. resilience, building on similar agreements Trump secured with other allies.
Critical minerals have become a key pillar of geopolitical negotiations after the U.S-China trade war exposed the overt reliance of supply chains worldwide on the Asian country.
Separately, MP Materials said on Wednesday it would build a rare earths refinery in Saudi Arabia with the U.S. Department of Defense and Saudi Arabian state-owned mining company Maaden to expand Middle Eastern processing of the critical minerals.
Artificial Intelligence
U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed an AI memorandum of understanding, granting Riyadh access to the American edge in the technology that has become foundational to global equity market gains.
Sector bellwether Nvidia announced on Wednesday it is working with Saudi to build supercomputers.
Strategic Defense Agreement
Trump and bin Salman signed a strategic defense agreement, strengthening an 80-year partnership, easing U.S. defense firms’ operations in Saudi Arabia, securing burden-sharing funds and affirming Riyadh’s reliance on Washington as its key strategic ally.
The agreement appeared to fall short of the congressionally ratified NATO-style treaty Saudi Arabia initially sought.
F-35 Fighter Jets and American Tanks
The White House announced Trump had approved future deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and the Saudis had agreed to purchase 300 American tanks.
The sale of the stealth fighter jets to the kingdom, which has requested to buy 48 of the advanced aircraft, would mark the first U.S. sale of the advanced fighter jets to Riyadh, a significant policy shift. Until now, Israel has been the only country in the Middle East to have the F-35.
Trade and Capital Markets
Washington and Riyadh advanced investment opportunities aimed at expanding U.S. exports and lowering trade barriers, delivering direct gains for American manufacturers in global markets.
U.S. Treasury and Saudi finance ministry signed accords to boost collaboration on capital markets technology, standards and regulations, while strengthening ties in international financial institutions.
Source: White House fact sheet, company press releases
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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