Scoop: Trump to hold summit with Gulf leaders during Saudi Arabia trip
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U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani meet in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump is expected to hold a summit with Gulf state leaders during his visit to Saudi Arabia in mid-May, a U.S. official and two Arab officials told Axios.
Why it matters: Trump's first official foreign trip reflects the growing importance his administration is placing on economic cooperation and investments between the U.S. and Gulf countries.
- The summit will be a chance for Trump to present his vision for U.S. involvement in the Middle East and lay out his policy objectives in the region.
Driving the news: The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) is planning to invite to the summit the leaders of all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
- Trump is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on May 13 and hold bilateral meetings. The summit is planned for the morning of May 14.
- There currently aren't plans to invite leaders of other Arab countries to the summit but that could change, an Arab official said.
- After the summit, Trump will travel to Doha for a meeting with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim al-Thani. On May 15, he'll visit Abu Dhabi and meet Emirati President Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ).
- The White House said official details of the trip will be announced soon. The Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment.
Zoom in: U.S. and Arab officials said Trump's visit to the three Gulf countries is going to focus on bilateral issues, particularly investments, weapons sales and cooperation in artificial intelligence.
- On Friday, the State Department said it approved a possible $3.5 billion sale of medium range air-to-air missiles and supporting equipment to Saudi Arabia.
- The summit in Saudi Arabia will be the only part of Trump's visit with a broader regional focus and he isn't expected to use the trip to the Middle East to push forward any new diplomatic initiatives.
Between the lines: Trump isn't currently planning to visit Israel during this trip.
- U.S. and Israeli officials said Trump doesn't have anything he can get out of a visit to Israel at the moment, especially since a Gaza hostage-release and ceasefire deal isn't imminent.
The big picture: Trump will arrive in the region as the U.S. negotiates a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
- U.S. officials said Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries in the region expressed support for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal and encouraged Trump administration officials to continue pushing for it.
Flashback: In his first term as president, Trump's first foreign trip was to Saudi Arabia. During that trip in 2017 he held a summit in Riyadh with the leaders of dozens of Arab and Muslim countries.
- During President Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia in 2022, he held a summit with the leaders of the Gulf states, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.
