Saudi Arabia to Invest $600B in US     01/23 06:36

   Saudi Arabia's crown prince said Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 
billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after 
President Donald Trump earlier put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as 
his first foreign trip.

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  -- Saudi Arabia's crown prince said 
Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the 
next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump earlier put a 
price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip.

   Trump's 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a tradition of U.S. presidents 
first heading to the United Kingdom as their first trip abroad. It also 
underscored his administration's close ties to the rulers of the oil-rich Gulf 
states as his eponymous real estate company has pursued deals across the region 
as well.

   The comments from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reported early Thursday 
by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, came in a phone call with Trump.

   "The crown prince affirmed the kingdom's intention to broaden its 
investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the 
amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that," the report said.

   The readout did not elaborate on where those investments and trade could be 
placed. The U.S. in recent years has increasingly pulled away from relying on 
Saudi oil exports, which once was the bedrock of their relationship for 
decades. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have taken large stakes in American 
businesses while also looking at sports as well.

   Saudi Arabia does, however, rely predominantly on U.S.-made weapons and 
defense systems, which could be a part of the investment.

   There was no immediate readout from the White House on the call. It also 
wasn't immediately clear if Trump's call with the crown prince was his first 
with a foreign leader since re-entering the White House. However, it was the 
first reported abroad.

   The crown prince, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, also spoke 
with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio early Thursday.

   On Monday after his inauguration, Trump talked about possibly heading to the 
kingdom again as his first foreign trip, like he did in 2017.

   "The first foreign trip typically has been with the U.K. but ... I did it 
with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of 
our products," Trump told journalists in the Oval Office. "If Saudi Arabia 
wanted to buy another $450 billion or $500 -- we'll up it for all the inflation 
-- I think I'd probably go."

   The 2017 visit to the kingdom set in motion a yearslong boycott of Qatar by 
four Arab nations, including the kingdom.

   Trump maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia, even after Prince 
Mohammed was implicated in the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington 
Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The kingdom also had been talking 
for years with the Biden administration about a wider deal to diplomatically 
recognize Israel in exchange for U.S. defense protections and other support.

   The $600 billion pledge, which dwarves the gross domestic product of many 
nations, also comes as the kingdom faces budgetary pressures of its own. Global 
oil prices remain depressed years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, 
affecting the kingdom's revenues.

   Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed also wants to continue his $500 billion project 
at NEOM, a new city in Saudi Arabia's western desert on the Red Sea. It also 
will need to build tens of billions of dollars' worth of new stadiums and 
infrastructure ahead of it hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.