Trump touts $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit, lifts sanctions on Syria

US President Donald Trump has said the US has “no stronger partner” than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip – a whirlwind visit of Gulf countries mainly focused on shoring up investment.

Day one of the tour saw the two sides announce a $142bn (£107bn) arms deal, as well as other investments that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said could eventually be worth $1tn.

Trump also made Saudi Arabia the first foreign stop during his first term, in 2017. The rest of his trip will include stops in Qatar and the UAE.

Speaking for nearly an hour in Riyadh, Trump also announced that the US would be lifting sanctions on Syria in order to give the country “a chance at greatness”.

Trump’s arrival in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday was met with a grand reception, including a lavish lavender-coloured carpet rolled out to greet him. He had even chosen a purple tie to match it.

Riyadh swapped red carpets for lavender in 2021, saying that it was a symbol of the kingdom’s desert wildflowers and generosity.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Trump on the tarmac and provided an honour guard of Arabian horses to accompany his presidential limo.

In a speech later, Trump said: “I like him a lot.”

The pomp and ceremony was a drastic change from the muted reception for former US President Joe Biden, who declared Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state after the murder of a dissident journalist, before he travelled to the oil-rich kingdom to seek their help in lowering petrol prices, fist-bumping the crown prince.

Trump flew to the Gulf to strike financial deals and argued in his speech that it is through this kind of commerce and economic development that the Middle East would transcend violence and division.

In his remarks at an investment forum, Trump lauded the US-Saudi relationship as “more powerful than ever before”.

“From the moment we started we’ve seen wealth that has poured – and is pouring – into America,” he said.

Trump is trying to woo foreign investors to the US to boost the American economy, a key focus of his administration in the nearly four months of his second term.

“I like him too much,” Trump said of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de-facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. “That’s why we give so much.”

Underscoring his commitment to deal-making, Trump was joined by billionaire ally Elon Musk and other business leaders at a lavish lunch.

During his address, Trump said it was his “dream” to have Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords, a deal brokered in his first administration that saw relations between Israel and some Gulf countries normalised for the first time.

But his good friend, Mohammed bin Salman, has made it clear that will not happen until there is a permanent end to the war in Gaza and a clear path to Palestinian statehood.

There is a limit to what this friendship can deliver.

Trump only briefly addressed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

He told those in attendance that people in Gaza deserved a “better future”, which had been held back by Hamas choosing “to kidnap, torture and target” for “political ends” – a reference to the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

Trump also announced he was lifting sanctions on Syria to improve the country’s new government, a move he suggested was requested by Mohammed bin Salman.

“Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” the US leader said.

American sanctions on Syria had been in place for over a decade, meant to apply pressure and economic pain against the dictatorship of former President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December.

Syria has since elected a new transitional president, creating an opening for renewed US diplomacy efforts.

Trump was expected to meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudia Arabia.

From Saudi Arabia, Trump will head to both Qatar and the UAE, which has already committed to investing $1.4tn in the US over the next decade.