On Saturday, the white House announced that President Donald Trump signed a military deal with Saudi Arabia worth $110 billion in short terms and $350 billion over the next decade. His two-day visit to Saudi Arabia is his first official overseas trip, and precedes a two-day visit to Israel.
“That was a tremendous day,” Trump said after signing the deal with Saudi leader King Salman. “Tremendous investments in the United States. Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.”
“This package demonstrates, in the clearest terms possible, the United States’ commitment to our partnership with Saudi Arabia and our Gulf partners, while also expanding opportunities for American companies in the region, and supporting tens of thousands of new jobs in the U.S. defense industrial base,” a statement said.
At the same time it was announced that Lockheed Martin signed a $6 billion letter of intent to assemble 150 Black Hawk helicopters in Saudi Arabia, and General Electric announced a series of projects valued at $15 billion.
It was also announced that US private equity firm Blackstone and Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund planned to create a $40 billion vehicle to invest in infrastructure projects, mainly in the United States.
Saudi Arabia is the largest purchaser of US military equipment and technology, accounting for nearly 10 percent of exports.
