President Donald Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday to a personal greeting from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a lavish purple carpet rolled out, elegant soldiers on horseback, and a coffee break at an airport “VIP lounge.”
Trump is embarking on the first formal international tour of the second term of his presidency, beginning in Saudi Arabia. He is expected to then travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an itinerary focusing on a variety of issues including economic cooperation, the ongoing war between Israel and the jihadist terror group Hamas, and efforts to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Saudi Arabia, Trump is expected to attend the Saudi-US Investment Forum and a meeting of Gulf Arab leaders later on Tuesday.
The president has made one other international trip since being sworn into office in January – unprompted travel to Vatican City for the funeral of Pope Francis.
Trump – accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth – were escorted on Air Force One by Saudi fighter jets to Riyadh’s airport. The crown prince personally greeted the delegation, a high honor that Saudi Arabia does not typically offer to visiting dignitaries. The Emirati newspaper The National observed in its coverage of the visit that “typically, a provincial governor or another official will greet a foreign leader on arrival.” The crown prince did not greet the last American president to visit the country, Joe Biden, at the airport, instead receiving him in Jeddah with an uncomfortable fist bump.
Saudi officials laid out a purple carpet to greet the Americans, who walked it off the plane. Greeting them on the ground was a contingent of Saudi soldiers who performed a 21-gun salute and fanfare to welcome the group, according to the government’s Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Trump and his team then made their way to the Al-Yamamah Palace in the Saudi capital. The U.S. government brought Trump’s presidential vehicle, known as the “Beast,” to Saudi Arabia; the Beast drove to the palace flanked by a Saudi military cavalry.
The purple, or lavender, carpet is a unique display the Saudi government adopted in 2021 for official state receptions and other special occasions, the Saudi news network Al Arabiya explained on Tuesday, citing the SPA. In addition to honoring Saudi culture, the color was adopted in conjunction with the debut of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to diversify the Saudi economy away from dependence on oil and expand its cultural and geopolitical influence.
“The lavender carpets are identical to the color of the Kingdom’s deserts and plateaus in the spring when they are decorated with the color of lavender flowers, SPA explained, “and other plants such as Desert Germander and basil, which together form a natural violet.”
Prior to traveling to the palace, Mohammed bin Salman hosted Trump, Rubio, and Hegseth in a lavish room that the Saudi Foreign Ministry described as the King Khalid International Airport “VIP lounge” for a cup of Saudi coffee.
Saudi officials then held a greeting event featuring several high-ranking Saudi officials and foreign tech industry celebrities such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman. According to The National, Trump greeted Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to America, Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir, and the head of Aramco, Amin Nasser. Aramco, the Saudi state oil company, is the world’s largest oil-producing corporation.
This is the second time that Trump begins a presidential term with a visit to Saudi Arabia. In 2017, following his inauguration, Trump traveled to the country to meet with the crown prince and other regional leaders. He notably attended an event alongside Saudi King Salman and Egyptian strongman Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in which the three committed to the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, an anti-terrorism initiative. The event featured the three leaders jointly holding a mysterious glowing orb, one of the most memorable images of Trump’s first term.
The 89-year-old King Salman has since handed down most government responsibilities to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves as the nation’s prime minister. As with Trump’s first visit, terrorism is expected to be a key topic of discussion with Saudi officials, particularly in light of the ongoing war between the state of Israel and the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas. Trump for years pursued efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, but those plans were put on hold after the October 7, 2023, massacres in Israel by Hamas. Trump’s Mideast diplomacy during his first term did expand the process to normalize relations between Israel and Islamic countries, however, resulting in the Abraham Accords, which saw the UAE and Bahrain recognize the legitimacy of Israel.
Also expected to be topics of conversation are China’s expansion of influence in the Middle East during the Biden administration – which actively antagonized Saudi Arabia – and the India Middle East Economic Corridor, a plan to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
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