The second term of U.S. President Donald Trump has seen numerous differences compared to his first, yet his selection of Saudi Arabia for his inaugural foreign visit remains consistent.
On Tuesday, Trump will head to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, mirroring his initial international journey during his first term in 2017. This three-day trip will also encompass visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
This visit is anticipated to yield significant technology and business investment agreements, as the governments of these three nations aim to leverage their considerable resources to provide Trump with substantial economic successes to promote domestically, in return for improved access to U.S. technology.
According to Jon Alterman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “The primary goal of this journey is to secure some wins for the president. Trade and investment agreements will be revealed that will enhance his reputation as a negotiator, leading to impressive figures.”
Trump is reportedly targeting over $1 trillion in investment and agreements from the visited nations, with expected announcements including a $100 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s acquisition of 100 commercial aircraft from Boeing. Additionally, during the visit of UAE’s National Security Advisor in March, preliminary announcements hinted at a range of technology and energy agreements, with a commitment of $1.4 trillion to be invested in the U.S. over the next decade.
While it remains uncertain how much of this proposed investment will materialize, the mere potential is crucial for Trump.
“He gauges success by the billions he can bring into the U.S. economy—that’s his metric,” stated Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute focusing on technology. “Trump, being a businessman from New York, fully recognizes the Gulf as a region ripe with opportunities for his administration.”
This trip represents a notable shift in U.S. geopolitical priorities under Trump, who seems to be creating a distance from traditional Western allies. As Soliman described, “The Gulf is effectively becoming the new Europe.”
For Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, appealing to Trump’s instincts as a dealmaker is a strategy to obtain U.S. security and military assurances. Saudi Arabia continues to work on a civil nuclear agreement with the U.S., although several challenges remain before finalization. Additionally, Qatar is allegedly preparing to purchase $2 billion worth of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones.
“The Gulf states recognize that to secure American commitment, it has to be rooted in an economic foundation, as that’s what resonates with this president,” noted Dennis Ross, former Middle East advisor across various administrations. “The stronger the economic bond they create with him, the more likely they are to receive security backing from the U.S.”
However, as these countries step up their economic engagements, the focus is increasingly on technology. They are striving to reduce their reliance on oil revenues and position themselves as significant players in global artificial intelligence advancement.
To achieve this, these states require access to advanced U.S. semiconductor technology, which the Biden administration has been cautious about providing due to concerns regarding ties to China and the potential for U.S. tech to end up in Chinese hands. A critical aspect of this is the AI diffusion rule introduced by the Biden administration before Trump took office, imposing strict licensing on chip purchases for all but 18 nations. The UAE has particularly campaigned against this regulation, underscoring it during the recent visit from Tahnoon bin Zayed to Washington.
These Gulf nations are eager to invest in high-value sectors such as AI, semiconductor manufacturing, data centers, low-earth orbit space capabilities, and electric vehicle batteries, all essential areas for their national interests. As Soliman stated, “They’ll seek frameworks for investments and export controls.”
They may have already gained a substantial win, as the Trump administration is reportedly set to lift licensing requirements for the diffusion rule ahead of its activation next week, facilitating country-specific agreements for chip access.
Yet, several deals being discussed prior to the trip have raised alarms in Washington due to concerns about overlaps between Trump’s presidential authority and personal financial benefits. For instance, Qatar is allegedly preparing to gift Trump a lavish $400 million Boeing 747 aircraft often referred to as the “palace in the sky,” which he would use as Air Force One for the rest of his term before transferring it to his presidential library foundation. Trump characterized the gift as a “transparent transaction” in a post on Truth Social, but Democratic senators are raising alarms about potential foreign bribery.
“A president who accepts a $400 million gift from a foreign government clearly creates conflicts of interest, raises national security issues, invites foreign influence, and erodes public confidence in our government,” Senators Brian Schatz, Cory Booker, Chris Murphy, and Chris Coons stated in a release. “No one, including the president, is above the law.”
The media attaché from Qatar in Washington, Ali Al-Ansari, refuted the gift reports, explaining that discussions about the potential temporary use of an aircraft as Air Force One are ongoing between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, and legal evaluations are still in progress.
Additionally, another deal has surfaced that raises ethical red flags. Recently, the UAE-based investment firm MGX, chaired by Tahnoon bin Zayed, disclosed plans to invest $2 billion in the cryptocurrency exchange Binance via World Liberty Financial, a crypto company owned by the Trump family.
The World Liberty Financial website lists Trump as its “Chief Crypto Advocate,” with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Barron Trump, along with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and his sons, Zach and Alex, as part of its leadership team.
Murphy characterized this transaction as “potentially the most corrupt foreign-policy act of our era,” suggesting that it functions as a mechanism for the UAE to provide cash to Donald Trump and his family.
The Emirati embassy in Washington did not provide a response to inquiries about this situation.
During Trump’s presidency, his sons have been active in the region securing deals for the business empire they oversee, including plans for several Trump properties across Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The White House, along with Donald Jr. and Eric, dismissed conflicts of interest allegations, asserting that Trump has no direct involvement in these agreements and that many were initiated before his re-election. They emphasized that “the president’s assets are held in a trust managed by his children.”
Donald Jr. is also set to speak at the upcoming Qatar Economic Forum shortly after his father’s visit, in a session previously titled “Monetizing MAGA: Investing in Trump’s America,” but it has since been rebranded to “Investing in America.” The forum’s organizers did not address inquiries about the title change.
Trump’s cryptocurrency endeavors are drawing significant attention in Washington. After his Gulf trip, he is slated to host a private dinner with the top 220 investors in his digital memecoin, $TRUMP.
Murphy remarked, “The crypto coin serves as a channel for millions of dollars flowing from foreign entities into Trump’s finances—while Trump has long been engaged in corrupt practices, this represents a heightened level of corruption.”
These agreements, alongside the implications likely to arise from Trump’s upcoming trip, could offer wealthy foreign nations a route to influence U.S. policies effectively, leading to potentially detrimental outcomes for American citizens if they do not receive corresponding benefits.
“It would be a poor deal for U.S. citizens if America gains nothing in return for concessions to foreign governments, benefiting only Donald Trump personally and financially.”
Contributions to this report were made by Christina Lu.