Trump signs economic deal with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in Middle East ahead of speech: Live

The president has left the Saudi palace after signing an economic agreement withe crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He is heading to the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, where he is due to deliver a keynote talk alongside the prince shortly.

They are now announcing a series of agreements between the countries.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the energy ministries from both countries for cooperation in the field of energy.A letter of intent between the Ministry of defense of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Department of Defense about the modernisation and development of armed forces of Saudi Arabia through future capabilitiesAn MOU on cooperation on mining and mineral resources between the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and the US Department of EnergyA letter of intent to complete work and enhance joint cooperation on ammunition, training, supervision services, maintenance, system upgrades and spare parts for the Saudi National GuardMOU between the ministry of interior and the FBILetter of intent to help the Saudi armed forces develop health capabilitiesAn MOU on judicial cooperation between their respective justice departmentsAn executive agreement between the Saudi Space Agency and Nasa for cooperation in the Cubesat 2 space weather monitoring project

Donald Trump and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman have signed a strategic economic partnership between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

The signing ceremony comes after a day of ceremonies and meetings – with more to come.

The pair are due to speak within the next hour at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum.

For Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Tuesday’s visit by President Donald Trump caps what’s been a series of major events to bring the kingdom back into the embrace of international business.

Businessmen thronged to a Saudi investment forum, a stark contrast to what happened after the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was slain by a Saudi hit squad at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

On Tuesday, the world’s media has crowded into the kingdom and broadcast images of the crown prince, smiling, greeting Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk.

Trump called Mohammed bin Salman a friend and said they’d developed a good relationship.

He has said he decided to make Saudi Arabia his first official overseas stop again because of the kingdom’s promise to invest $600 billion in the United States. He joked Tuesday that they could bump it up to $1 trillion.

“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said.

Donald Trump has praised Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to the country.

“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said in Riyadh, CNN reports.

The president said the visit was an “honor” and added he was “so impressed” with the Prince, saying he was “very wise, wise beyond his years”.

Trump said the $600 billion the Saudis have promised to invest in the U.S. will create “tremendous numbers of jobs”.

There are rising concerns about Qatar’s influence on Donald Trump, as well as potential conflicts of interest as his sons negotiate deals with Qatar that will directly enrich the Trump family fortunes.

Read the full report below: