President Trump welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in grand fashion on Tuesday ahead of talks on Middle East security and big investments between the countries.
Mr. Trump greeted the crown prince, known as MBS, with brass fanfare from military bands on the South Lawn and a flyover by fighter jets before heading into the White House.
The Saudis want to buy F-35 fighter jets and obtain the kind of mutual-security guarantees from the U.S. that Mr. Trump provided Qatar, a smaller Gulf state.
Mr. Trump will push the Saudis to take a bigger role in rebuilding Gaza and lobby them to join the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations among Israel and smaller Arab countries in 2020.
The Saudis have made Palestinian statehood a precondition for such an agreement, so they are not expected to join the accords during this trip.
This is not a formal state visit, but Mr. Trump is laying out the red carpet for the Saudis with a lunch, bilateral meeting and White House dinner.
MBS will also meet with Capitol Hill leaders.
The crown prince is making his first White House visit since the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, at a Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
Formal investigations alleged the killing was premeditated with the crown prince’s involvement. The Saudi leader denied personal involvement and regained clout with the West, given his country’s status as a major player in Middle East security and oil production.
The crown prince is pushing a Vision 2030 plan that diversifies the Saudi economy, including an expansion into the arts and sports.
Critics say the Saudis are using “sports-washing” to obscure the Khashoggi episode and suppress free expression and LGBT rights.
