Saudi Arabia, Biden’s ‘Pariah,’ Tells Trump It Wants to Invest $600 Billion in America

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump in a phone call his country hoped to invest at least $600 billion in American ventures in the next four years, the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.

Mohammed bin Salman held a congratulatory phone call with Trump and separately spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, celebrating the “strength of the U.S.-Saudi partnership in this time of momentous change.” The Crown Prince is widely considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia representing the interests of the elderly King Salman.

The optimism and hopes for cooperation out of Riyadh less than a week into Trump’s second term as president contrast significantly with the tense and unproductive relationship Saudi Arabia maintained with the administration of former President Joe Biden.

Biden tainted the relationship before entering the White House by promising to turn Saudi Arabia into a global “pariah” during a presidential debate in the 2020 election cycle, a slight that the crown prince appears to have never forgotten.

Among the lowlights of the U.S.-Saudi relationship under Biden were Saudi Arabia’s decision to normalize relations with the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism, Iran, and bolster ties to communist China.

The crown prince appeared to indicate that that tide had begun turning with Trump back in the office according to the Saudi government’s readout of his phone call with Trump.

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince noted the U.S. administration’s ability to create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity through anticipated reforms in the United States and that the Kingdom seeks to participate in the opportunities for partnership and investment,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said of the call on Thursday. “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince affirmed the Kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years to the amount of $600 billion and potentially beyond that.”

The Saudi government said that Trump offered his “appreciation” and said, contrary to Biden’s stance, that his White House was open to cooperation with Riyadh on “all that benefits the interests of both countries.” The Saudi news agency al-Arabiya added that, according to Saudi reports, the crown prince “expressed confidence in Trump’s economic policies” and described the country as “eager to capitalize on this momentum to bolster joint ventures and strategic investments.”

The report did not identify any specific sector of investment Saudi Arabia is observing but Mohammed bin Salman has made diversifying the Saudi economy away from oil dependence a major policy of his term in power, branded the “Vision 2030” initiative. “Vision 2030” has been marked by Saudi Arabia aggressively seeking to become a major player in the international sporting world, building a “green mega-city” named Neom in its northwest intended to host music festivals and global entertainment events, and even investment in non-fossil fuel energy.

Al-Arabiya noted that Trump maintained a uniquely positive relationship with Saudi Arabia during his presidency. Saudi Arabia was the first country he visited after being inaugurated in 2017, breaking with the tradition of first visiting the United Kingdom. During that visit, Trump helped inaugurate the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, standing alongside Saudi King Salman and Egyptian strongman Abdel Fattah a-Sisi holding a symbolic orb.

Mohammed bin Salman held a separate call with Secretary of State Rubio to similarly reiterate Riyadh’s interest in supporting America’s goals. This conversation, as described in a State Department readout, focused more on national security issues.

“The Secretary and Crown Prince discussed the strength of the U.S.-Saudi partnership in this time of momentous change,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in the readout. “The Secretary conveyed that he looked forward to advancing shared interests in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and beyond.”

“The Secretary also stressed the threats posed by Iran and its proxies. They also discussed the benefits of the U.S.-Saudi economic partnership and the opportunities to grow their economies in a variety of fields including AI,” the readout added.

The Trump administration has already taken one major step to benefit the national security interests of Saudi Arabia: re-designating Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Yemeni Houthi terrorist movement, a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Former President Biden removed the Houthis from the list, allegedly to help allow humanitarian aid into Yemen, which resulted in the Houthis dramatically expanding their scope of attack and launching a successful campaign to disrupt global shipping in and around the Red Sea.

The official statement re-designating the Houthis specifically mentioned the terrorists’ “multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia” as a reason to restore them to the foreign terrorist organization list.

The Biden administration’s relationship with Saudi Arabia never recovered his promise to turn the country into a “pariah” and his moves supporting the Houthi movement. In 2022, Biden attempted to repair the relationship by visiting Saudi Arabia, which attracted widespread condemnation from Democrats who demanded a rift away from the country following the gruesome killing of Islamist journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Critics also condemned Biden for what appeared to be an attempt to convince Riyadh to produce more oil, bringing down oil prices before the midterm elections in the United States. Biden denied that this was his reason for visiting but offered no sound alternative rationale.

The subsequent visit was widely mocked as the “fist-bump summit” for the awkward greeting Biden and Mohammed bin Salman gave each other. Rather than increasing oil production, the Saudi government agreed, alongside other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to a massive cut in oil production, raising prices and outraging the Biden White House. Anonymous reports surfaced in American left-wing media that the Saudis had “duped” Biden by promising an oil production cut. Other reports claimed Mohammed bin Salman openly mocked Biden’s “mental acuity” and was outwardly disrespectful to the elderly president around his officials.

The Saudi government denied those reports, but moved away from America and strengthened ties to Washington’s foes, including Russia and China. These maneuvers peaked with an invitation for Saudi Arabia to join BRICS, the China-led anti-American trade and security bloc, which Saudi Arabia has neither accepted nor rejected at press time.

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