Saudi-US investment forum opens in Riyadh as Trump visits Saudi Arabia

ISTANBUL

A Saudi-US investment forum opened in Riyadh on Tuesday as President Donald Trump started his first Middle East tour since taking office in January.

The forum brings together business leaders to explore new opportunities that further strengthen the partnership between Riyadh and Washington.

The forum "comes at a historic moment in which the shared commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the US is renewed, for the benefit of both countries and the entire world," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in his opening speech.

He said Saudi Arabia will inject new investments worth $600 billion in the US in the coming four years, although Trump previously said that he would ask the Saudis to "round out" their promised $600 billion to "around $1 trillion" after speaking with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in January.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, for his part, said the Saudi-US relationship "gets stronger and stronger every year," stressing that their bilateral relations extend over 92 years.

Trump's adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk is also joining the Saudi-US investment forum, according to US media.

Other top American business leaders attending the event include Boeing's Kelly Ortberg, Northrop Grumman's Kathy Warden, Coca-Cola's James Quincey, Alcoa's William Oplinger, LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, and Amazon's Andy Jassy.

Trump’s regional tour also includes stops in Qatar and the UAE.