Trump welcomes Saudi crown prince to the White House

US President Donald Trump welcomed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday during the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia’s first White House visit since Saudi agents killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The US-Saudi relationship had been sent into a tailspin by the operation targeting Mr Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom, that US intelligence agencies later determined Prince Mohammed likely directed the agents to carry out.

But seven years later, Mr Trump has tightened his embrace of the crown prince, whom he views as an indispensable player in shaping the Middle East in the decades to come.

Prince Mohammed denies involvement in the killing of Mr Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and resident of Virginia.

The president dismissed questions to the crown prince about the journalist’s killing.

“Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen,” Mr Trump said of the international incident.

Mr Trump, during an Oval Office meeting with the prince by his side, even commended the Saudi leader for strides made by the kingdom on human rights without providing any specific detail.

“I’m very proud of the job he’s done,” Mr Trump said. “What’s he done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else.”

The crown prince for his part announced Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investments in the US to one trillion dollars (£759 billion), up from 600 billion dollars that the Saudis said they planned to invest in the United States when Mr Trump visited the kingdom in May.

Mr Trump’s family has a strong personal interest in the kingdom. In September, London property developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

It is Dar Global’s second collaboration with the Trump Organisation, the collection of companies controlled by the US president’s children, in Saudi Arabia. Last year, the two companies announced the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah.

Mr Trump pushed back on the notion on Tuesday that there was a conflict of interest.

“I have nothing to do with the family business,” he said, adding that his family has relatively little interest in the kingdom.

The leaders will end their day with an evening White House event, organised by first lady Melania Trump, to honour the prince.

Mr Trump praised Prince Mohammed as they appeared before news media.

“We have a (sic) extremely respected man in the Oval Office today,” Mr Trump said, calling the prince “a friend of mine for a very long time”.

Mr Trump also praised the prince’s father. Prince Mohammed has taken charge of the day-to-day governing for his father, King Salman, 89, who has endured health problems in recent years.

The president spoke about how well he thinks the US is performing under his leadership.

The president and Prince Mohammed walked slowly on the White House Colonnade, where Mr Trump has hung portraits of all the presidents except one – Joe Biden.

Mr Trump and the crown prince walked slowly, pausing for several minutes at the portraits of former presidents Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D Roosevelt.

In place of Mr Biden’s portrait, Mr Trump has hung a picture of an autopen signing the former president’s name. Mr Trump showed it off to Prince Mohammed before they entered the Oval Office together.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese former Manchester United footballer who is playing in the Saudi Pro League, is also expected to be at the White House on Tuesday during the crown prince’s visit, according to a White House official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In addition to White House pomp, the two nations are also planning an investment summit at the Kennedy Centre on Wednesday that will include the heads of Salesforce, Qualcomm, Pfizer, the Cleveland Clinic, Chevron and Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil and natural gas company, where even more deals with the Saudis could be announced.

Ahead of Prince Mohammed’s arrival, Mr Trump announced he has agreed to sell the Saudis F-35 fighter jets despite some concerns within the administration that the sale could lead to China gaining access to the US technology behind the advanced weapon system.