Trump’s Mideast Wish List: $1+ Trillion in Investments – and Some Diplomacy Too

The agenda for the President's trip is big on commerce; war-and-peace issues may take a back seat

US President Donald Trump (C) is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (3rd-R) upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on May 20, 2017, followed by First Lady Melania Trump (2nd-R). (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

EXPERT INTERVIEWS – President Donald Trump embarks this week on the first scheduled overseas trip of his second term (the funeral for Pope Francis having obviously not been in the “scheduled” category), a four-day visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Just as he did in his first term, President Trump has chosen the Saudi kingdom as his first destination, on a trip that’s expected to yield a flurry of deal-signing ceremonies – the business variety, as opposed to diplomatic agreements.

“I said I will go [to Saudi Arabia] if you put up a trillion dollars to American companies,” Trump said in March. “Meaning the purchase over four years of a trillion dollars. They agreed to do that. So I am gonna be going there.”

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