Trump set to host Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince at the White House this week

President Donald Trump is set to host Saudi Arabia’s ambitious and influential Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House this week for high-level talks aimed at deepening economic and defense ties.

‘We’re more than meeting,’ Trump said on Friday en route to Florida for the weekend. ‘We’re honoring Saudi Arabia, the crown prince.’

While not formally a state visit, the plans include a welcome ceremony with military bands, a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and a black-tie dinner in the evening.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman serves as the kingdom’s powerful understudy to his 89-year-old father, King Salman. Widely regarded as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, he manages nearly all daily affairs of state and frequently represents the kingdom in international summits and diplomatic meetings.

Tuesday’s meetings will mark Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s first visit to the White House in more than seven years. Trump said last week that he plans to discuss strengthening ties with the Saudi leader and hopes the kingdom will move toward formally recognizing Israel.

‘The Abraham Accords will be a part we’re going to be discussing,’ Trump told reporters Friday. ‘I hope that Saudi Arabia will be joining the Abraham Accords fairly soon.’

Such a move would build on Trump’s signature foreign-policy initiative, the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations during his presidency.

The crown prince last visited the White House in 2018, just months before Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident journalist and critic of the kingdom, was murdered at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. 

A subsequent CIA assessment concluded the prince had likely ordered the killing, though he has consistently denied involvement. Even so, Trump’s relationship with the crown prince appeared largely undeterred during his first term.

Trump last met the crown prince during his first state visit of his second term to Riyadh in May, where he was welcomed with a fighter jet escort, an honor guard wielding golden swords and a parade of Arabian horses flanking his limousine.

The Trump administration is also expected to finalize an agreement with bin Salman to allow Riyadh to purchase F-35 stealth fighter jets, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing a White House official.

The two leaders are expected to sign several other economic and defense agreements during the crown prince’s visit to the White House on Tuesday, the report added.