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US president has targeted consideration on the Gulf, visiting the area in first international coverage journey of his second time period.
President Donald Trump has hosted Qatar’s prime minister for a non-public dinner and met with Bahrain’s crown prince on the White Home as a part of a United States effort to deal with regional points, together with securing a Gaza ceasefire, and promote diplomatic ties with the Gulf area.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister and a member of the nation’s ruling household, had a non-public dinner with Trump on Wednesday night. Earlier than this meal, Trump met with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa within the Oval Workplace.
With little progress to share on the area’s most urgent conflicts, together with Israel’s war on Gaza, Trump was extra targeted on Wednesday on selling diplomatic ties as a car for financial progress.
Trump has lavished consideration on the Gulf, a rich area the place members of his household have intensive enterprise relationships. In mid-Could, he visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign policy trip of his second term.
Whereas in Qatar in mid-Could, Trump complimented its palaces and stopped on the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US army base within the Center East.
The bottom was hit by Iran after the US bombed the nation’s nuclear amenities, hours earlier than a ceasefire was declared within the US-Israel-Iran battle. One ballistic missile made influence, whereas others had been intercepted.
The go to culminated in offers value at the very least $1.2 trillion, together with a significant transaction for Qatar Airways to purchase 210 plane from Boeing. One other deal included purchases of drone and anti-drone know-how from US defence corporations like Raytheon, and investments within the US power sector.
Trump desires to make use of an expensive Boeing 747 donated by Qatar as his Air Pressure One, saying he’s bored with ready for Boeing to complete new planes. Nonetheless, the association has stirred issues about safety and the ethics of accepting a present from a international authorities.
Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Center East points to Democratic and Republican administrations, mentioned “the Gulf represents every thing that Trump believes is correct in regards to the Center East.
“It’s wealthy, it’s steady, it’s populated by authoritarians with whom the president feels very snug,” mentioned Miller.
Throughout his earlier assembly with Al Khalifa, Trump mentioned: “Something they wanted, we helped them. And something we would have liked, they helped us.”
Bahrain is a longtime ally that hosts the US Fifth Fleet, which operates within the Center East.
Like different Arab leaders, Al Khalifa is raring to spotlight the profitable potential of diplomatic ties with the US, together with $17bn value of investments.
“And that is actual,” he mentioned. “It’s actual cash. These aren’t pretend offers.”
In keeping with the White Home, the agreements embody buying US plane, jet engines and laptop servers. Extra investments may very well be made in aluminium manufacturing and synthetic intelligence.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the crown prince’s father, is anticipated to go to Washington earlier than the tip of the yr. An vital a part of the connection shall be an settlement, signed on Wednesday, to advance cooperation on civilian nuclear power.
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