As he begins his second term, President Donald J. Trump is making closer and stronger relations with Saudi Arabia — and an historic Saudi-Israeli peace deal — a top priority.
Trump is keen on attracting vast Saudi investments to turbocharge the American economy and create new jobs.
He also sees the Saudis as a vital element of building a pro-American security alliance in the Middle East to counter the Iranian threat.
That’s why Trump’s first call with a foreign leader was with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman., widely known by his initials, “MBS.”
As the two spoke on Thursday, MBS congratulated Trump on his reelection.
He also pledged to invest upwards of $600 billion in the American economy over the next four years.
Trump is grateful — but wants more.
“But I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion. I think they’ll do that because we’ve been very good to them.”
“I’m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil,” Trump said. “You got to bring it down, which, frankly, I’m surprised they didn’t do before the election. That didn’t show a lot of love by them not doing it. I was a little surprised by that.”
“If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately. Right now, the price is high enough that that war will continue. You got to bring down the oil price; you’re going to end that war. They should have done it long ago. They’re very responsible, actually, to a certain extent, for what’s taking place — millions of lives are being lost.”
“With oil prices going down, I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately. And, likewise, they should be dropping all over the world. Interest rates should follow us.”
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, held a phone call this evening with President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.
During the call, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince conveyed the congratulations of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his own congratulations to the President on the occasion of his inauguration as President of the United States, and wished the friendly American people more progress and prosperity under the President’s leadership.
The two leaders discussed ways for cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism. The leaders also discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties in various areas, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince noted the U.S. administration’s ability to create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity through anticipated reforms in the United States, and that the Kingdom seeks to participate in these opportunities for partnership and investment.
“”His Royal Higness the Crown Prince affirmed the Kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that.
The President expressed his appreciation and thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for their congratulations, and affirmed his keenness to work with the Kingdom on all that benefits the interests of both countries.
