Riyadh - Arab Today
U.S President Donald Trump reached to the headquarters of the Arab-American Islamic Summit scheduled to be conducted in King Abdel Aziz Center of Conferences in the Saudi Capital of Riyadh. The American president is scheduled to deliver a speech before 55 leaders of the Muslim States to discuss the ways of cooperation between the U.S and its Muslim allies to combat terrorism.
The U.S President started his visit to Saudi capital on Saturday to make Riyadh the first stop of his first foreign tour since his ascent to the power. He held a number of meetings King Salman Abdel Aziz and signed a number of deals on different trade, investment, technological and military fields.
The U.S President is also keen to assuage the fears of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies over the threats coming from Tehran in the light of the Iranian interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries and its moves to threaten the security and stability of its Gulf neighbors.
The US on Saturday said it hoped Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s newly re-elected president, will halt his country’s support for “destabilizing forces,” end ballistic missile tests and carry out democratic reforms during his second term.
“We hope that if Rouhani wanted to change Iran’s relationship with the rest of the world, those are the things he could do,” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir. Al-Jubeir said US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia marks “the beginning of a turning point” in bilateral relations.
This will contribute to enhancing cooperation between the two countries, as well as with the Arab and Islamic world, he added. Al-Jubeir said that the strategic partnership agreement by King Salman and Trump would develop into a strong strategic partnership.
The strategy will formulate different ways to counter extremism and terrorism, increase the Kingdom’s defense capabilities and design joint defense cooperation. The visit, he said, is historic and opens the door to cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, investment and education.
“The two countries have signed a series of agreements, both by private, commercial, entities and inter-governmental, including on investment and infrastructure,” said Al-Jubeir.
“The value of the deals exceeds $380 billion; they will be executed over the next 10 years and will provide many opportunities both for the Kingdom and for the United States.” Al-Jubeir added that technical cooperation between the two countries will ensure economic growth and greater American investment in the Kingdom.