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President Donald Trump is set to host Saudi Arabia’s ambitious and influential Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House this week for high-level talks aimed at deepening economic and defense ties.
“We’re more than meeting,” Trump said on Friday en route to Florida for the weekend. “We’re honoring Saudi Arabia, the crown prince.”
While not formally a state visit, the plans include a welcome ceremony with military bands, a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and a black-tie dinner in the evening.
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Prince Mohammed bin Salman serves as the kingdom’s powerful understudy to his 89-year-old father, King Salman. Widely regarded as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, he manages nearly all daily affairs of state and frequently represents the kingdom in international summits and diplomatic meetings.
Tuesday’s meetings will mark Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s first visit to the White House in more than seven years. Trump said last week that he plans to discuss strengthening ties with the Saudi leader and hopes the kingdom will move toward formally recognizing Israel.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman returns to the White House on Tuesday for the first time in more than seven years. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“The Abraham Accords will be a part we’re going to be discussing,” Trump told reporters Friday. “I hope that Saudi Arabia will be joining the Abraham Accords fairly soon.”
Such a move would build on Trump’s signature foreign-policy initiative, the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations during his presidency.
The crown prince last visited the White House in 2018, just months before Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident journalist and critic of the kingdom, was murdered at a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
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