MBS visit sees landmark US-Saudi F-35, nuclear energy agreements

• Crown prince raises Saudi investment in US to nearly $1 trillion.
• White House welcomes MBS with soldiers on horseback, F-35 flypast.
• President Trump praises crown prince’s “incredible” human rights record.

The United States and Saudi Arabia signed agreements on civil nuclear energy and the sale of cutting-edge US F-35 warplanes during a visit Tuesday by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the White House said.

The two countries ratified a “joint declaration” on civil nuclear energy that “builds the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar nuclear energy partnership” in line with “strong nonproliferation standards,” the White House said in a statement.

In addition, President Donald Trump approved a “major defence sale package,” which includes future deliveries of F-35 advanced American fighter jets.

Earlier, Trump hailed Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman $1 trillion investment pledge as the US president laid on a lavish welcome at the White House.

Trump moved to consolidate his growing bromance with the Saudi leader, who is at the Oval Office for the first time in seven years, 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 opened their White House meeting with praise for the prince’s “incredible” human rights record.

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, even though 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 ageing 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 normalise 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.

This is a developing story and is being updated with details.