The visit comes as the United States considers selling F-35s to Saudi Arabia.
President Donald Trump is set to receive Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington on Nov. 18 to deepen cooperation on energy and security amid a U.S. push for Saudi-Israeli normalization.
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Nov. 14, Trump described the crown prince’s visit, his second to Washington in seven years, as “more than a meeting.”
“We are honoring Saudi Arabia,” Trump said, adding that the two leaders will be discussing the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states signed in late 2020.
“I hope that Saudi Arabia will be going into the Abraham Accords fairly shortly,” Trump said.
The Saudi crown prince maintains that normalization can only occur if there is concrete progress toward a Palestinian state, a demand Israel’s current government firmly opposes.
The United States has been pressing for the expansion of the Abraham Accords, as part of its efforts to bring stability to the Middle East and strengthen the October Gaza cease-fire agreement that ended the two-year conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
Current signatories to the Abraham Accords include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. Earlier this month, Kazakhstan announced its intention to join. Trump said the United States would soon announce that more countries are expected to join.
“We’ve had tremendous interest in the Abraham Accords since we put Iran out of business,” Trump said on Nov. 14.
Iran’s nuclear program was set back by U.S. and Israeli strikes in June. On Nov. 16, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran is no longer enriching uranium anywhere in the country.
Trade Relations
Saudi Arabia remains a key U.S. trading partner in the Middle East, with $9.5 billion in Saudi investment in 2023, according to the White House.
“In 2024, U.S.–Saudi Arabia goods trade totaled $25.9 billion, with U.S. exports at $13.2 billion, imports at $12.7 billion, and a trade surplus in goods of $443 million,” the White House stated in a May fact sheet.
The crown prince’s visit, coming after Trump’s Middle East tour in May, may prompt further developments in the U.S.–Saudi trade relationship.
