Reception at the White House with honors seven years after Khashoggi’s murder

It is about the Bin Salman’s first trip to the United States since 2018the year in which the Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist was dismembered in his country’s consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain the necessary documentation to marry his fiancée.

The CIA determined that Salman approved the murder given his omnipotence over all the kingdom’s security apparatus, but the Prince has denied his involvement from the beginning.

Although the former Democratic president Joe Biden vowed to treat Bin Salman as a ‘pariah’ Because of this assassination, the strategic interests of the United States in the region, such as oil and security, pushed it to establish relations with Riyadh and meet the Prince in 2023 during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Both in his first term and in the current one, Trump has praised the alliance with Riyadh and has highlighted the importance of Saudi investments in the United States.

Trump and Bin Salman already met last May during the Republican’s tour of the Middle East in which they announced arms cooperation and investment agreements.

Parade of horses and airplanes

This Tuesday’s visit began with a ceremony on the South Lawn of the presidential mansion, where Trump welcomed Bin Salman, in an event that included a parade of horses and the flyover of fighter planes.

Both leaders will hold a private bilateral meeting, a working lunch and, in the evening, they will conclude the day with a gala dinner at the White House with a delegation of businessmen.

Saudi Arabia seeks to acquire F-35 fighter jets from the United States, while Washington wants Riyadh to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel and join the Abraham Accordswhich Trump promoted in his first term.

If this sale is closed, it would be the first of US fighters to Saudi Arabia and would mark an important change in its foreign policy.

The agreement could alter the military balance in the Middle East and test Washington’s definition of maintaining what the United States has called the Israel’s “qualitative military advantage.” Until now, Israel has been the only Middle Eastern country to possess the F-35.

Beyond military equipment, the Saudi leader seeks new security guarantees. Most experts predict that Trump issue an executive order to create a defense pact similar to the one it recently granted to Qatar, although still short of the NATO-type treaty ratified by Congress that the Saudis initially intended.

In addition, Washington and Riyadh will close agreements for greater cooperation in civil nuclear energy and a multibillion-dollar investment in American artificial intelligence infrastructure.