President Donald Trump said $270 billion in deals are being signed at a US-Saudi Investment Forum, the latest in a series of huge numbers he’s announced during this week’s visit to Washington by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“We’re told that $270 billion in agreements and sales are being signed between dozens of companies, and that’s just happening today,” Trump said Wednesday during a keynote address at the business gathering. “I want to thank you for bringing all those jobs and all those great opportunities to America.”
A full detailed list of the deals wasn’t immediately available, and the president in the past has touted investment pledges that have struggled to stand up to scrutiny. One company named by Trump as entering into a deal is GE Aerospace, which he said would “deliver dozens of new engines.”
The forum comes a day after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Crown Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, at the White House for a day of dealmaking capped by a dinner with prominent tech, finance and energy executives. Earlier Tuesday, the crown prince pledged to increase Saudi investments in the US from a previously promised $600 billion to $1 trillion, though the promise lacked specifics.
Wednesday’s investment forum highlights how lower oil prices and a budget deficit have forced Saudi Arabia to ramp up efforts to draw in foreign investment — an initiative that stands to be bolstered by the warm ties between Trump and MBS.
The US plans to approve the first sales of advanced artificial intelligence chips to the Saudi firm Humain, according to people familiar with the matter, a major victory for the state-backed venture.
Humain is the centerpiece of the Saudi effort to diversify the economy of the energy-rich country and become a major player in AI infrastructure and computing resources. But the success of that effort has depended on obtaining access to US chips and overcoming national security concerns in Washington over Riyadh’s economic ties with China.
