Saudi crown prince vows US$600 billion investment in call with Trump

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Thursday the kingdom wants to invest US$600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump earlier put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip.

Trump’s 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a tradition of US presidents first heading to the United Kingdom as their first trip abroad. It also underscored his administration’s close ties to the rulers of the oil-rich Gulf states as his eponymous real estate company has pursued deals across the region as well.

The comments from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reported early Thursday by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, came in a phone call with Trump.

“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 US$600 billion, and potentially beyond that,” the report said.

The readout did not elaborate on where those investments and trade could be placed. The US in recent years has increasingly pulled away from relying on Saudi oil exports, which once was the bedrock of their relationship for decades. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have taken large stakes in American businesses while also looking at sports as well.

There was no immediate readout from the White House on the call. It also wasn’t immediately clear if Trump’s call with the crown prince was his first with a foreign leader since re-entering the White House. However, it was the first reported abroad.