President Donald Trump said he might ask Saudi Arabia to increase its planned investment in the United States to around $1 trillion.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump on Jan. 22 that his kingdom will invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years to boost trade relations.
Prince Mohammed congratulated Trump on his inauguration during a phone call and expressed his kingdom’s desire to expand its investments in the United States during Trump’s four-year term.
The crown prince said the $600 billion investment may increase when more opportunities arise, but did not specify where the funding would be directed, according to a transcript from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry said that Trump’s expected reforms in the United States would lead to “unprecedented economic prosperity.”
The White House said their discussion touched on efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, bolster regional security, and combat terrorism.
It was Trump’s first phone conversation with a foreign leader since his return to the White House on Monday, according to an official readout by the White House.
“Additionally, they discussed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s international economic ambitions over the next four years as well as trade and other opportunities to increase the mutual prosperity of the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the readout states.
Before their talk, Trump told reporters on Monday that he would consider going to Saudi Arabia for his first foreign visit if it is willing to buy $500 billion worth of American products.
“The first foreign trip typically has been with the UK but I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or 500, we’ll up it for all the inflation, I think I’d probably go.”
On Thursday, Trump said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Switzerland that he might ask Saudi Arabia to increase its planned investment in the United States to around $1 trillion.
“I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion,” he said by videocall. “I think they’ll do that because we’ve been very good to them.”
