President Donald Trump visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday as the third and final leg of his Middle East trip.
After delivering remarks to servicemembers at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Trump jetted off to the UAE, where he received another grand reception, as he did in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan greeted Trump as he exited the plane at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Bin Zayed’s greeting was followed by a grand reception with woman dancing by waving their long hair to the beat of drums.
Trump and bin Zayed then headed to Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, where they inspected the breathtaking architecture.
Trump joined bin Zayed later in the day for his official state visit ceremony at the Qasr al Watan, where he was received with more pomp and spectacle.
Bin Zayed bestowed on Trump “the Order of Zayed,” which is the nation’s highest civilian honor:
Trump spoke glowingly of the friendship he shares with bin Zayed.
“I have absolutely no doubt that the relationship will only get bigger and better–your relationship and mine can’t get better, so I can’t say it’s going to get better because it’s at the highest level it can be–but our countries will work together,” Trump said.
He complimented bin Zayed as “a great warrior, a very strong man, a brilliant man, a man of vision like few others… and highly respected.”
The celebration of Trump in the UAE was not confined to Abu Dhabi, as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world, was lit up as an American flag.
Trump announced Thursday more than $200 billion in commercial deals on top of the $1.4 trillion previously announced investment from the UAE, the White House noted in a fact sheet.
Throughout his trip to the Middle East, the president has secured more than $2 trillion in new investments, including $1.2 trillion in Qatar and $600 billion in Saudi Arabia, per the White House.
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