Washington [US], May 13: Today, US President Donald Trump begins a visit to the Gulf region, with the aim of attracting abundant investment for the US, while the host countries want to reach a security agreement with Washington.
President Donald Trump's delegation will arrive in Saudi Arabia today, before moving to Qatar the following day and ending in the UAE on May 16, according to Reuters. The tour of Arab countries in the Gulf underscores the Washington administration's efforts to strengthen trade and strategic ties with key allies in the Middle East.
Win-win relationship
Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has traveled to Rome, Italy, but it was an unscheduled visit to attend the funeral of the late Pope Francis. In fact, his first major foreign trip of his second term was to three Arab countries in the Gulf.
One of the main focuses of the Washington administration during the visit is to sign agreements and attract new investment sources to the US. "The focus of the trip is trade, the economy," The Washington Post quoted veteran diplomat Richard Haass, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations (headquartered in Washington DC).
President Trump will be accompanied by leaders from Wall Street and Silicon Valley. The CEOs of BlackRock, Palantir, Citigroup, IBM, Qualcomm, Alphabet, and Franklin Templeton will attend the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on May 13. Riyadh is building a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship with the US. And Mr. Trump expects Saudi Arabia to invest about $1,000 billion in the US, but the official figure will not be available until both sides announce it.
fetime opportunity" to achieve military, technological and economic goals, according to a Gulf official who spoke to CNN.
"Security, security, security" is the goal that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries want to achieve during Mr. Trump's trip, according to Ali Shihabi, a commentator on politics and economics in Saudi Arabia. From the perspective of the regional countries, now is the time to strengthen relations with
Washington, and even move towards "securing greater privileges in relations with the most powerful country in the world," CNN quoted Mr. Ebtesam AlKetbi, founder and chairman of the Emirates Policy Center in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
Security risks in the Middle East
The US president's trip comes as the Middle East faces pressing and potentially widespread security concerns, including the fate of the Gaza Strip , Iran's nuclear program and Mr. Trump's long-standing goal of normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. In an unusual move, Mr. Trump is not scheduled to visit Israel, unlike his Middle East trip during his first term.
Reuters quoted Hamas' announcement about the release of Mr. Edan Alexander, the last surviving American hostage in the group's hands. The release of the American hostage yesterday was seen as a goodwill gesture that Hamas wanted to send to President Trump when the US leader visited the region. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he did not agree to Hamas's request for a ceasefire, but only guaranteed Mr. Alexander's safe return.
Gaza's health ministry said yesterday that at least 29 Palestinians were killed and 94 wounded in Israeli attacks across the territory in the past 24 hours. More than 2,749 Palestinians have been killed and 7,607 wounded since Israel ended its ceasefire on March 18. Israel also attacked the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah on May 11 after warning residents at three ports in the city to evacuate immediately.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
