WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit the White House on November 18 for an official working meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, a White House official confirmed Monday.
The visit comes as Trump seeks to encourage Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations. In 2020, the United States brokered deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. Saudi officials have expressed hesitation, citing the need for progress toward Palestinian statehood.
Trump told CBS’ 60 Minutes in a recent interview that he believes Saudi Arabia will ultimately join the accords.
The agenda for the visit may also include discussions on a potential U.S.-Saudi defense agreement. A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that “there are discussions about signing something when the crown prince comes, but details are in flux.” The Financial Times reported earlier that officials hoped an agreement could be finalized during bin Salman’s visit.
Saudi Arabia has requested formal U.S. guarantees for its defense and access to advanced American weaponry. The kingdom remains one of the largest buyers of U.S. arms, and the two countries have maintained close ties for decades through a longstanding arrangement in which Saudi Arabia supplies oil and the United States provides security.
During Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May, the United States agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package valued at nearly $142 billion, underscoring the depth of the strategic partnership.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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