Saturday 27 / April / 2024
Washington: US President Donald Trump gave a warm welcome to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday and credited US defence sales to the Saudis with boosting American jobs, even as Riyadh's involvement in Yemen's civil war faced criticism.
In the Oval Office, Trump and the crown prince praised the strength of US-Saudi ties, which had grown strained under the Obama administration in part over differing views toward Iran
The talks were part of the first visit by the prince to the United States since he became the heir apparent last year to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Trump's red-carpet treatment highlighted his administration's strong backing of the crown prince, who carried out an anti-corruption purge that consolidated his power and whose aggressive foreign policy has caused unease among some Western allies.
At the same time, the kingdom has seen a cautious new climate of social freedoms with the rise of the 32-year-old crown prince after decades of elderly rulers.
Trump and Prince Mohammed discussed an agreement last year for $200 billion worth of Saudi investments with the United States, including large purchases of US military equipment. Trump said the military sales contributed to the creation of 40,000 American jobs.
Trump held up charts to show the depth of Saudi purchases of US military hardware, ranging from ships to missile defence to planes and fighting vehicles.
"Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy nation, and they're going to give the United States some of that wealth, hopefully, in the form of jobs, in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world," he told reporters.
The crown prince, who is also the defense minister, is on a public relations blitz while travelling in the United States, with stops in New York, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston to cultivate investments.
As they talked, US senators debated a resolution seeking an end to US support for Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen's civil war, in which about 10,000 people have been killed. Some members of Congress have been critical of the Saudi involvement, particularly over the humanitarian situation and civilian casualties. The Senate rejected the resolution.
A senior Trump administration official said the two leaders talked about the humanitarian situation in Yemen and that civilian casualties "did not come up in a major way," given that Washington had been working with the Saudis to minimise them.
They also discussed nuclear cooperation. Riyadh has been stepping up plans to develop a civilian nuclear energy capability as part of a plan to reduce its dependence on oil.
Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the chamber's Foreign Relations Committee, said senators questioned the crown prince closely about Yemen during a meeting with him on Tuesday.
Prince Mohammed capped his rapid rise to power last June by replacing his elder cousin Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who had close relationships with US intelligence and defense circles, as crown prince. He is likely to rule for many decades if he succeeds his father.
Trump praised the king's move to elevate Mohammed and called US-Saudi ties strong as ever.
"I thought your father made a very wise decision. And I miss your father - a special man," he said.
King Salman is to visit the United States later this year.
Although the prince has won Western plaudits for seeking to ease Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil, tackle chronic corruption and reform the kingdom, the severity and secrecy of his anti-corruption crackdown last November unnerved some in the West.
The crown prince, in a rare foray into speaking English, said on Tuesday the Saudi pledge for $200 billion in investments would end up at $400 billion when fully implemented. He said a 10-year window for implementing the deal was under way.
A key focus of his visit will be any information on a potentially lucrative listing of up to 5 per cent of Saudi oil firm Aramco. The New York Stock Exchange is among the possible venues for the listing.
