In the heart of Washington, on an afternoon marked by a solemn ceremony and handshakes in front of the cameras, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salmanreceived by the US president Donald Trump in a visit that marked the opening of a new chapter in relations between the two countries. This is the Saudi leader’s first official visit to the White House in more than seven years, and has both symbolic and strategic significance.
The meeting was based on an ambitious and combined agenda: on the one hand, Washington’s proposal to sell Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia. F-35 stealth fighter aircraft — a turning point that revised the long-term balance in the Middle East; on the other hand, Saudi’s desire to return to the center of international attention, attract investment and diversify the economy which has been centered on oil. Along with these themes, collaboration is also carried outartificial intelligencein the fields of civil technology and energy are emerging as the new foundations of this partnership. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about a potential sale of the F-35, fearing it could upset the military balance in the Middle East and upset Israel. There are also concerns that if moved to Saudi Arabia, F-35 technology would be easier to steal Chinaconsidering that the kingdom has close relations with Beijing.
Trump defends Saudi prince in Khashoggi caseStates that “Something happens” and who did not hold the Saudi leader responsible for the 2018 assassination, despite US intelligence reports assessing otherwise. The scenography of the reception – honor guards, black horses, heraldic trumpets, military salutes and fighter plane flyovers – is not just an aesthetic detail: it shows the desire of the two leaders to show outsiders their strong, high-level ties. The murder of the journalist, which American intelligence says bin Salman gave the green light to, remains an open wound in relations between the White House and Riyadh. The prince denies ordering the operation, although he admits responsibility responsible as the de facto authority of the kingdom.
In parallel, a still open chapter appears: the normalization Saudi relations with Israel. Trump has made it clear that he wants to bring Saudi Arabia into the fold Abraham AccordsBut Riyadh reiterated that steps in this direction will only be possible if there is a concrete path towards a Palestinian state.
If this summit was a turning point, it might be more accurate to read it as the beginning of a path that requires concrete verification: the actual sales of F-35s, the true volume and fate of Saudi investments in the United States, the level of openness demonstrated by the kingdom regarding human rights.
In this entanglement, Washington seems to have decided to focus on pragmatism: consolidating its strategic allies in the region, while taking into account the inevitable tensions that are the legacy of recent history.
