Mission TRUMP | Riyadh rolls out red carpet for the US president, sign pacts covering sectors like energy and mining; set to invest $600bn in America

Agencies RIYADH

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a strategic economic agreement with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as the oil power rolled out the red carpet for him at the start of a tour of Gulf states aimed at drumming up trillions of dollars in investments.

Trump punched the air as he emerged from Air Force One to be greeted by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who later signed an agreement with the president which Saudi state television said covered energy, defence, mining and other areas. The White House said Saudi Arabia was set to invest $600 billion in the United States, including the largest defence sales agreement between the allies, worth nearly $142 billion.

"I really believe we like each other a lot," Trump said during a meeting in Riyadh with the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler. Trump, who is accompanied by a host of U.S. business leaders including billionaire Elon Musk, will go on from Riyadh to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington's priorities, and the focus of the trip is on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East. "While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have expanded and multiplied many, many times over," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said as he opened the forum.

"As a result ... when Saudis and Americans join forces very good things happen, more often than not great things happen when those joint ventures happen," he said before Trump's arrival. In a meeting at the Royal Court, Trump called the Saudi crown prince a friend and said they have a good relationship, according to a pool report from the Wall Street Journal. Trump recalled travelling to the kingdom in 2017 and said Saudi investment would help create jobs in the U.S.

He said jokingly that a $600-billion investment pledge by Saudi Arabia could be $1 trillion, repeating a figure he has cited before as he seeks investment from an important strategic partner. Riyadh hosted a Saudi-US investment forum as Trump visited, with attendees including Larry Fink, the CEO of asset management firm BlackRock, Stephen A. Schwartzman, CEO of asset manager Blackstone, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Musk chatted briefly with both Trump and the crown prince, who is otherwise known as MbS, during a palace reception for the U.S. president. And joining Trump for a lunch with MbS were top U.S. businessmen including Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. MbS has focused on diversifying the kingdom's economy in a major reform programme dubbed Vision 2030 that includes "Giga-projects" such as NEOM, a futuristic city the size of Belgium.