United States President Donald Trump signed a $ 110 billion arms agreement with Saudi Arabia on his first official foreign trip. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said the deal in addition to other investments Washington makes in Riyadh could amount to a total of $350 billion, Reuters reported. The development comes at a time when reports about Russia’s alleged role in his election campaign and decision to dismiss the Federal Bureau of Investigation chief James Comey had surfaced.
Trump thanked the people of Saudi Arabia and spoke of the “hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs” that were part of the “tremendous deal”. The deal signed included a letter of intent from Washington to “support Saudi Arabia’s defence needs” with the sale of military equipment such as naval ships, tanks the sophisticated THAAD missile defense systems, The Washington Post reported..
Trump’s official trip is scheduled to include visits to Israel, the Vatican, Italy and Belgium.
Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said the deal, which emerged after the president’s meetings with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz was “the beginning of a turning point” between the United States, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, Reuters reported.
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