Trump hails $1tn investment vow by Saudi Crown Prince

• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) pledged to increase Saudi investment in the US to nearly $1 trillion during a lavish White House meeting with President Donald Trump.
• MBS affirmed his country wants to join the Abraham Accords but conditioned normalization on securing a "clear path" to a two-state solution for the Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged Tuesday a $1 trillion investment pledge in the United States, as president Donald Trump laid on a lavish welcome at the White House.

Trump moved to consolidate his growing bromance with the Saudi prince, giving him a parade of soldiers on horseback and a military flypast featuring F-35 jets that he said Washington would soon sell to Riyadh.

Trump the human rights record of MBS, as the latter made his first visit to the White House since 2018.

"We have an extremely respected man in the Oval Office today, a friend of mine for a long time, a very good friend of mine," Trump said alongside the Saudi crown prince.

"I'm very proud of the job he's done. What he's done is incredible, in terms of human rights, and everything else," Trump added.

The heir to the throne then delighted Trump by announcing that he was increasing the $600 billion Saudi investment he promised Trump when the US president visited the country in May.

"We can announce that we are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion for investment," Prince Mohammed said in the Oval Office.

A grinning Trump asked him to confirm the figure, to which the Saudi royal replied: "Definitely."

Rose Garden tour

Trump pulled out all the stops for the Saudi prince, giving him treatment normally reserved for a state visit to the White House, despite the fact that he is not a head of state.

He welcomed bin Salman -- who is widely known as MBS -- on the South Lawn of the White House as cannon fire boomed out, before they watched the noisy flypast by US military jets.

The 79-year-old Republican then showed the prince a new gallery of presidential portraits by the Rose Garden -- including one portraying his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden as an autopen.

Trump has accused an aging Biden of using the automated device to sign presidential pardons, and questioned their legality.

Later in the day First Lady Melania Trump will hold a gala dinner.

Portugal soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in Saudi Arabia, will also be at the White House for the gala day of events, a White House official told AFP.

The president has made a priority of boosting ties with the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, particularly as he seeks to turn the ceasefire between ‘Israel’ and Hamas in Gaza into a longer-lasting regional peace.

Trump said he had pushed the prince to normalize relations with ‘Israel’ as part of the Abraham Accords that he launched in his first term.

Prince Mohammed said he was working to do so "as soon as possible" but insisted on securing a "clear path of two-state solution" for a Palestinian state first.

"We want to be part of the Abraham Accords. But we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path of two-state solution," the prince said in the Oval Office alongside Trump.

"We're going to work on that, to be sure that we can prepare the right situation as soon as possible," he added.

The paid had a “healthy discussion” on the issue, he continues.

Trump interjects, saying, “I don’t want to use the word commitment, but we’ve had a very good talk on the Abraham Accords. We talked about one-state and two-state.”

Trump adds bin Salman has a “very good feeling toward the Abraham Accords”.

“We want peace for the Israelis, we want peace for the Palestinians. We want them to coexist peacefully in the region,” Bin Salman says.

F-35 Jets

Trump meanwhile reiterated his intention to sell Saudi Arabia coveted F-35 stealth fighters, despite concerns from ‘Israel’ and warnings from US officials that China could steal technological knowledge about the jets.

In another area of past contention, Trump will sign a deal on a framework for civilian nuclear cooperation, a US official and a source familiar with the negotiations said.

The 40-year-old prince has fostered close ties with Trump and his family over the years, including through investment pledges to the property billionaire-turned-US president.

Denying Conflict

Trump denied that he had any conflicts of interest in negotiating with Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, after his sons signed a major real estate deal in that country.

"I have nothing to do with the family business. I have left, and... I've devoted 100 percent of my energy. What my family does is fine. They do business all over," he said, referring to his sons who now manage the Trump Organization, and have signed several high-profile deals since their father returned to power.

Jeffrey Epstein

Trump denied Tuesday that he had anything to do with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as US lawmakers were expected to vote on releasing records related to the disgraced financier.

"As far as the Epstein files...I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein," Trump told reporters. "I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert."