It’s not an official state visit, but the White House is preparing to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next week with the usual pomp and circumstance.
The crown prince’s day at the White House will begin next Tuesday with an arrival ceremony on the expansive South Lawn and a subsequent greeting in the South Portico, according to a senior White House official.
Trump will then host him in the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting, followed by signings and lunch in the Cabinet Room where the United States and Saudi Arabia will work to formalize several economic and defense agreements, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the administration’s plans.
Later in the evening, the White House will hold a dinner in the East Room hosted and planned by First Lady Melania Trump.
The official said that his visit is described as an official working visit because Prince Mohammed is not technically a head of state. On Wednesday, dozens of CEOs are expected to attend a meeting of the US-Saudi Business Council at the Kennedy Center for the Fine Arts, which is now led and managed by Trump loyalists.
The senior White House official said that although the US President’s attendance at the working meeting has not yet been confirmed, he is likely to attend.
Trump’s relationship with the Gulf states was the president’s top foreign policy priority in his second term. His first major trip abroad was a tour of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where Trump was welcomed by the extremely rare Air Force One escorted by Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s and a state dinner at a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“I really think we love each other very much,” Trump said during his meeting with Prince Mohammed at the Royal Palace in Riyadh. Trump later described Prince Mohammed as a “wonderful man” and “my friend.”
It also marks the crown prince’s first trip to the United States since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 during Trump’s first term.
US intelligence agencies said Prince Mohammed likely ordered the killing, leading to sanctions on several Saudi officials. He denies his involvement, and the Trump and Biden administrations have worked to repair relations with Saudi Arabia since then.
(Tags for translation) Saudi Arabia
