Published: 4:33pm, 16 May 2025Updated: 4:42pm, 16 May 2025
US President Donald Trump on Friday capped his Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi after signing another raft of multibillion-dollar deals, while also securing a US$1.4 trillion investment pledge from the United Arab Emirates.
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The eye-watering amounts of money in investments were accompanied also by historic overtures to Syria and renewed optimism over an Iran nuclear deal during the multi-day trip across the Gulf.
At an event to highlight business partnerships between the UAE and US companies, Trump gave himself a big pat on the back.
“I’m just thinking we have a president of the United States doing the selling,” Trump said to business leaders as they walked him through a presentation on investments that are benefitting the American economy. “You think [Joe] Biden would be doing it? I don’t think so. But I think its so important. I have to be a cheerleader for our country.”
On his first foreign tour of his second term, Trump oversaw a US$200 billion order from Qatar Airways for Boeing jets and a US$600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia – including nearly US$142 billion in weapons, which the White House described as the largest-ever arms deal.
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Trump also expressed optimism over reaching a new agreement with Iran over its nuclear programme, and in a seismic diplomatic shift, decided to lift decades-long sanctions on Syria