Sunday, May 21, 2017

Deals in hundreds of billions signed in Riyadh

The first day of US President Donald Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia has resulted in "tremendous investments,” Trump said on Saturday. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs", he added as he entered a meeting with is Saudi hosts.
 
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said “I can’t imagine another business day that’s been as good for the United States or for the kingdom.” And National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, said that deals would amount to “A lot of money; big dollars."
 
Bloomberg news reported that at one point, Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner was seen high-fiving National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. Trump’s was also accompanied by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, chief strategist Stephen Bannon, and daughter Ivanka Trump, who will meet Sunday with Saudi women’s groups.
 
Both Ivanka and First Lady Melania Trump were not wearing headscarves.
 
Trump was greeted by King Salman on Saturday morning as he exited Air Force One. Jets flew overhead, spewing red, white and blue smoke, and at the Royal Palace, Trump received Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honor, before sitting with the Saudi leadership for a traditional coffee ceremony.
 
Trump’s first day in Riyadh saw General Electric Co. sign $15 billion in deals to provide technical support for different Saudi sectors, including the oil and gas industry. Lockheed Martin Corp. signed a deal for the assembly of 150 S-70 Black Hawk helicopters in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said the kingdom would enter into deals with the US valued at about $50 billion.
 
The package would support “tens of thousands of new jobs in the US defense industry,” the White House said in a statement.