Four days, three countries: US president Donald Trump arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday after having started his tour of several Gulf states on Tuesday.
The American president touched down in Abu Dhabi, where he was greeted by President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Trump was then given a tour of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which he called “beautiful”.
The trip is part of a four-day visit of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Trump’s first major overseas tour of his second term as president.
These countries, among the world’s wealthiest nations due to their oil-rich territories, have shown keen interest in closer ties with the US since Trump returned into office.
A deal emblematic of this new relationship was announced with Saudia Arabia on Tuesday: while the US pledged to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package valued at nearly $142 billion dollars, the Middle Eastern country in turn announced a $600 billion dollar commitment to invest in the United States.
Whether similarly significant deals with the United Arab Emirates are to be announced soon remains to be seen, yet the possibility exists.
Meanwhile, Qatar announced that it wanted to gift Trump a $400 million luxury plane to replace his Air Force One. Trump said that he was planning on accepting the gift, despite sparking outrage among Democrats and causing concerns for the ethical, security and legal implications of the move.
Source: Africanews
