Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman to visit Trump on Nov 18: White House
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) will visit Washington, D.C., on November 18 for an official working meeting with US President Donald Trump, the White House said Monday.
The trip marks the crown prince’s second visit to the US capital in seven years, following his 2017 meeting with Trump during the president’s first term.
The visit comes as Trump intensifies efforts to persuade Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords, the series of agreements brokered during his previous administration to normalize relations between 'Israel' and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
Saudi Arabia has so far held back from joining the accords, maintaining that any normalization with 'Israel' must be tied to a clear path toward establishing a Palestinian state.
In an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Trump said he believed the kingdom would eventually sign on. “I think Saudi Arabia will join,” he said, suggesting the upcoming talks could further that goal.
A senior US official told Reuters that “there are discussions about signing something when the crown prince comes, but details are in flux.” Two weeks ago, The Financial Times reported that the two countries were exploring the possibility of a defense agreement to be announced during the visit.
Saudi Arabia has long sought formal US security guarantees and greater access to advanced American weaponry. The kingdom remains one of Washington’s largest arms customers, with their decades-long partnership grounded in an exchange of oil for security commitments.
During Trump’s trip to Riyadh in May, the US agreed to a massive arms package worth nearly USD 142 billion. His 2017 visit to Saudi Arabia, his first overseas trip as president, also resulted in a multibillion-dollar defense deal and marked the start of close personal and diplomatic ties between the Trump administration and the Saudi leadership.
Bin Salman’s upcoming visit underscores the continuing strategic relationship between Washington and Riyadh, one that blends mutual economic, defense, and geopolitical interests as the region’s balance of power continues to shift.
