The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), is expected in Washington on Tuesday November 18 for a meeting with United States President Donald Trump. The visit is seen as crucial for the US administration and is meant to revive and broaden the Abraham Accords while strengthening strategic and economic ties between Washington and Riyadh.
This is also the crown prince’s first trip to the United States since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi. The murder, carried out by Saudi operatives and widely attributed to Mohammed bin Salman, provoked worldwide outrage.
His return to Washington represents a symbolic moment and even a form of diplomatic rehabilitation from Donald Trump at a time when the crown prince, seen as nearing succession, is asserting himself as a pivotal figure in U.S. strategy in the Middle East.
Mohammed bin Salman also hopes to use the visit to bolster cooperation on security and defense and to push forward economic partnerships tied to his Vision 2030 agenda, which aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy and lessen its dependence on oil.
Push for Normalization with Israel
Since returning to the White House, the American president has sought to persuade Saudi Arabia to normalize its relations with Israel under the framework of the Abraham Accords. The accords, signed in 2020 by Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates, marked a major turning point for the region.
Saudi Arabia, as the guardian of Islam’s holiest sites, has long been reluctant, making any normalization conditional on the creation of a Palestinian state, a demand rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Yet in an interview aired last Sunday on CBS News during the program 60 Minutes, Donald Trump expressed confidence, saying he believed the Saudis would eventually join the accords.
Toward a Defense Pact
According to the American news site Axios, the meeting could result in the signing of a wide-ranging set of agreements, including a defense pact that would provide Saudi Arabia with an American security guarantee. The model would be similar to the commitment made to Qatar last September, but it would not constitute a legally binding defense treaty.
Axios also reports that Saudi Arabia is looking to advance a large arms deal, including the purchase of several dozen F-35 fighter jets. During Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom last May, numerous agreements were announced, including an arms contract worth nearly 142 billion dollars, but most have yet to be implemented. This has reportedly disappointed the Saudis, according to an Axios source.
The kingdom is also aiming to gain access to advanced U.S. semiconductor technology, which is crucial for advancing its artificial intelligence ambitions.
Diplomatically, the two leaders are expected to address Iran’s nuclear program and wider regional tensions. It remains unclear whether Saudi Arabia can act as an effective mediator to ease hostilities and help broker a new deal with Tehran.
The kingdom has already proven influential on the Syrian issue, successfully convincing Donald Trump to lift some sanctions on Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
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