With a visit to the Gulf States from May 13-16, Donald Trump made his first trip outside Europe since returning to the White House (with the exception of a trip to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis). The itinerary covered Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, but notable was the exclusion of Israel and a surprise meeting with Syria’s new leader. These moves are perceived as a signal of the U.S. administration’s desire to reorient Middle East strategy and shift focus to the Arab monarchies.
The economic agenda of the meeting was unprecedentedly large: in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia promised to invest about $600 billion in the U.S. economy. It was about the development of data centers for AI, large defense purchases (over $140 billion) and investments in technology projects with the participation of Google, Oracle and Uber.
The Qatar stage showed similar results: the parties’ commitments exceeded $1.2 trillion. Among the most notable is the order of Qatar Airways for more than 200 Boeing planes worth almost $100 billion. In addition, it included agreements on the supply of drones and financing of American military facilities, in particular, the modernization of the Al-Udeid airbase.
The UAE also confirmed its willingness to invest more than $1.4 trillion over the next ten years, focusing on technology, artificial intelligence and energy. The deals in excess of $200 billion were joined by oil companies ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum's industry agreements with Abu Dhabi worth about $60 billion.
Washington has relaxed the rules of the Committee on Foreign Investment in advance to accelerate capital inflows, underscoring the administration’s willingness to go along with Gulf allies even in sensitive sectors of the economy.
The political component of the visit was no less significant. The exclusion of Israel from the itinerary and the tough rhetoric of Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff indicate growing irritation with the decisions of the Israeli leadership on the Gas conflict and normalization of relations with Palestine.
U.S. contacts with the Syrian leadership and the announced lifting of sanctions was the first step since the 2000s to reintegrate Damascus into the regional dialog. This reflects the influence of Saudi Arabia and Turkey on American policy and opens new opportunities for stabilization in Syria.
On the Iranian track, Washington actively supported the talks, promising “maximum pressure” or an agreement depending on Tehran's willingness to give up its nuclear ambitions. In turn, Iran was ready to dismantle its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, which creates prerequisites for de-escalation of the regional confrontation.
The Palestinian-Israeli issue remained without breakthroughs at the end of the tour: Trump only stated the need for a better life for the inhabitants of Gaza, without proposing specific mechanisms for settlement. Against this background, the firmness of Netanyahu’s position only emphasizes the difficulty of reaching agreements.
In general, Donald Trump’s Middle East tour in May was a demonstration of a new model of interaction – from declarations to large-scale economic and military agreements. The cumulative volume of contracts exceeding $4 trillion strengthens the U.S. presence in the region and contributes to the reorientation of foreign policy toward strong strategic alliances with the Arab monarchies.
* The Institute for Advanced International Studies (IAIS) does not take institutional positions on any issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IAIS.
