US, Saudi sign deals worth over $380 billion

Riyadh : Agreements worth more than $380 billion have been signed between Riyadh and Washington on the first day of US President Donald Trump’s visit, the Saudi foreign minister said yesterday. 

“The two countries signed a series of agreements,” Adel al-Jubeir told reporters at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

He said the “total value of investments... (is) in excess of $380bn”, including by Saudi Arabia in American infrastructure, and US investment in developing the kingdom’s defence industry.

“We expect that these investments over the next 10 years or so will provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in both the United States and in Saudi Arabia,” Jubeir said.

Tillerson clarified that almost a third of the total figure is military-related.

Separately, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco said in a statement that it had signed joint venture and MOU agreements with American companies estimated to be worth about $50 billion.

$110bn defence deal

Meanwhile, a White House official said yesterday that arms deal with Saudi worth almost $110 million. “This package of defence equipment and services support the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats,” the official said.

A preliminary deal worth $6 billion to assemble 150 Lockheed Martin Blackhawk helicopters in Saudi Arabia was separately announced.  

Deal to counter Iran

The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that arms agreements worth $110bn signed with Saudi Arabia aim to help the kingdom deal with “malign Iranian influence”.

Blackstone, Saudi fund to invest $40bn in US

US asset management giant Blackstone and Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund announced they are launching a $40bn investment vehicle to finance infrastructure renovation in the United States. 

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) will contribute $20bn to the new vehicle, while the remaining $20bn will be raised from “other investors,” Blackstone said in a statement. 

Ultimately, this new fund aims to invest $100bn in infrastructure projects, “principally” in the US, according to the release.