As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares for his visit to Gulf nations this week, a central objective will be to secure major new investments for the American economy. According to Karen Young, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank, Trump is eager to make a visual and strategic statement with this trip. “President Trump wants the announcement [of more Gulf money for the US],” she explains. “He wants to have a big poster in a meeting that describes where these investments might go. And some estimation of what they will do to the American economy in terms of job creation or his big push, of course, on domestic manufacturing.”
President Trump is expected to land in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, May 13, where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler. The following day, on May 14, he will participate in a summit with Gulf leaders in Riyadh, before traveling to Qatar and then concluding his three-day regional tour in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on May 15.
The significance of the region to Trump’s economic strategy is underscored by the fact that Saudi Arabia was initially planned as the destination for his first overseas trip of his second term. However, the passing of Pope Francis required a change in plans, leading Trump to attend the funeral in Rome in late April. Notably, Saudi Arabia was also the first foreign country Trump visited during his first term, a departure from the traditional practice of U.S. presidents prioritizing visits to allies like the UK, Canada, or Mexico.
Trump’s agenda aims to showcase his “America First” policy as effective in delivering tangible results through foreign investment. Gulf sovereign wealth funds, particularly those from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are expected to play a pivotal role in supporting U.S. economic revitalization. Top executives from leading Wall Street and Silicon Valley firms will join Trump in Riyadh on May 13 for a Saudi-U.S. investment forum. Participating companies include BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir, IBM, Qualcomm, Alphabet, and Franklin Templeton.
The timing of the push comes amid growing economic uncertainty in the U.S. Recent import tariffs imposed by Trump have disrupted global trade, shaken market confidence, and contributed to a decline in U.S. economic output for the first quarter of the year—the country’s first contraction in three years.
Back in January, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced that Saudi Arabia would invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the coming years. Trump, however, has publicly expressed hopes that the figure will climb to $1 trillion, including increased purchases of American military equipment. Saudi commentator and author Ali Shihabi, who maintains close ties with the Saudi government, noted that a series of economic agreements are expected to be signed during Trump’s visit. “These deals will further integrate the Saudi and U.S. economies together—joint ventures in the kingdom, in the United States, procurements of American weapons and goods,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which manages approximately $925 billion in assets, already holds a number of significant investments in American companies, including Uber, Electronic Arts, and Lucid Motors.
Meanwhile, the UAE has already pledged to invest $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the next decade, focusing on sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing. This commitment was announced in March following a Washington meeting between President Trump and UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Karen Young notes, however, that the scale of these investment pledges should be viewed with some skepticism in the short term. She describes them as long-term strategic initiatives and cautions that such figures should be taken “with a little bit of a grain of salt.”
Among the concrete deals expected to be announced during the visit is a large arms purchase by Saudi Arabia, reportedly valued at over $100 billion. The package is said to include advanced missile systems, radar equipment, and transport aircraft. Although the U.S. has historically supplied arms to Saudi Arabia, the Biden administration temporarily halted offensive weapons sales in 2021 over concerns regarding Riyadh’s involvement in the Yemen conflict and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a crime that a U.S. intelligence report said was approved by Prince Mohammed.
The Biden administration later resumed these weapons sales in 2024, reportedly after Saudi Arabia ceased bombing Yemen. Some analysts believe the resumption also served a broader strategic purpose—namely, gaining Saudi cooperation in ending the Gaza conflict and aiding reconstruction efforts.
Mr. Shihabi added that the Saudi government will seek assurances from Washington about improving the procurement process to expedite the delivery of arms and equipment. “The Trump administration is initiating procedures to facilitate those deals. So, it’s expected that this process will improve immediately,” he said.
Artificial intelligence is another major area of focus for Trump’s Gulf visit. Talks will include proposals to attract greater Gulf investment into U.S. tech companies while also enabling Gulf nations to access cutting-edge American semiconductor technologies. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been investing heavily in tech and AI in recent years, as part of broader efforts to diversify their oil-dependent economies. The UAE, in particular, is positioning itself as a global AI powerhouse.
Last week, Trump’s administration repealed chip export restrictions that had been introduced under the Biden administration, which had limited the sale of advanced U.S. chips to over 120 countries, including those in the Gulf. The White House is now drafting new rules that may allow direct negotiations with countries like the UAE for AI-related tech exports. “For the UAE, this is absolutely essential,” says Young. “They are aggressively building out their AI capacity. So, for them getting access to U.S. technology is imperative to be the best.”
While the spotlight is on Trump securing Gulf capital for American interests, Saudi Arabia also hopes to attract U.S. investment into its domestic development agenda, particularly the Vision 2030 initiative. This long-term economic diversification plan features mega-projects like the construction of a futuristic linear city called The Line, along with heavy investments in tourism, entertainment, mining, and sports.
Despite these ambitions, foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia declined for the third consecutive year in 2024. This trend reflects ongoing challenges in attracting overseas capital, compounded by falling global oil prices since early this year. The drop in prices has strained the kingdom’s budget, forcing a difficult choice between increasing debt and scaling back spending to meet its development goals.
Oil prices hit a four-year low due to fears that a global trade war might hamper economic growth. The situation was further exacerbated by OPEC+—of which Saudi Arabia is a key member—announcing plans to ramp up production. While some analysts interpret this as a move to curry favor with Trump, who has called for lower oil prices, others believe OPEC+ is signaling confidence in continued global economic expansion.
The U.S.-Saudi Business Council, a group aimed at strengthening trade relations between the two countries, hopes Trump’s visit will encourage more American firms to explore opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Hutham Al Jalal, who heads the council’s Riyadh office, stated that the Saudi government is particularly interested in partnering with U.S. companies in sectors such as healthcare, education, and AI. “There is a very big appetite for Saudi companies to collaborate with American companies,” Al Jalal told the BBC.
Saudi officials remain optimistic that concrete agreements in these sectors will be finalized during Trump’s trip. For Riyadh, the visit offers a chance to solidify its longstanding partnership with Washington, which experienced turbulence during the Biden administration. For Trump, the mission is clear: to return home with a portfolio of investment deals that can be presented as proof that his economic agenda is bearing fruit. “President Trump is looking for a headline of big investments in America, and he will get that from this trip,” Shihabi concluded.
