Saudi Arabia–US ties deepen as Donald Trump and the Crown Prince unveil $575bn investments, $270bn agreements and major AI, energy and defence projects
Saudi Arabia and the United States have deepened their strategic partnership following the official visit of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to see US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
The visit delivered a series of major agreements spanning defence, energy, AI, digital infrastructure, trade, and investment — collectively valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Multiple forums, official meetings and high-level dialogues resulted in new partnerships worth more than $575bn, alongside additional agreements, MoUs and sectoral initiatives that reinforce one of the world’s most influential bilateral relationships.
Political and economic ties
A joint statement confirmed that the Crown Prince visited the United States from November 18 to 19, 2025, at the invitation of US President Donald Trump and under the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
President Trump received the Crown Prince at the White House, where the two leaders reaffirmed their “deep commitment to the historic bonds of friendship and the strategic partnership” between the two nations. They discussed developments of mutual concern and ways to enhance cooperation across all fields.
Senior officials from both governments attended the Saudi–U.S. Summit, including Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Kassabi, Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan, and Governor of the Public Investment Fund Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan.
On the US side, attendees included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
The Crown Prince highlighted the positive outcomes of President Trump’s May 2025 visit to the Kingdom, which elevated the bilateral relationship “to an unprecedented historical level”.
Multiple major agreements signed
The visit produced several major agreements, including:
- The Strategic Defense Agreement
- The AI Strategic Partnership
- A joint declaration on completing negotiations on civil nuclear energy cooperation
- Strategic frameworks for critical minerals, permanent magnets and uranium supply chains
- Arrangements to accelerate Saudi investments in the United States
- Capital markets collaboration agreements
- Mutual recognition of US federal vehicle safety standards
- An MoU in education and training
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump also hosted a state dinner in honour of HRH the Crown Prince.
$270bn in agreements announced at US–Saudi Investment Forum
The Crown Prince and President Trump took part in the US–Saudi Investment Forum, where approximately $270bn in agreements and MoUs were announced.
The Crown Prince also met with US House Speaker Mike Johnson and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
At the second edition of the US–Saudi Investment Forum, Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih announced that total investments and agreements between companies from both nations have reached $575bn.
This total includes:
- $307bn in commitments announced during President Trump’s May visit to Riyadh
- $267bn in new deals signed in Washington
The agreements span energy, AI, defence, space, finance, education, infrastructure and healthcare.
Al-Falih emphasised that the partnership provides American companies with valuable access to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, while enabling Saudi companies to benefit from advanced U.S. technology and the world’s largest consumer market.
Aramco announces 17 new MoUs and agreements worth more than $30bn
Aramco revealed 17 MoUs and agreements worth more than $30bn, building on the 34 agreements announced in May that carried a potential value of approximately $90bn.
The new agreements cover:
- Liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Lake Charles and Louisiana
- Potential LNG and natural gas purchases via Aramco Trading with Commonwealth LNG
- Procurement and long-term partnerships with suppliers including SLB, Baker Hughes, McDermott, Halliburton, Nesr, KBR, Flowserve, NOV, Worley and Fluor
- An extended MoU with Syensqo for localising carbon fibre and advanced composites manufacturing
- An investment and asset-management agreement for Wisayah with Loomis Sayles, Blackstone, PGIM, Inc., and J.P. Morgan
Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser noted the company’s nine-decade partnership with U.S. firms, citing their contribution to oil production, natural gas development, integrated downstream expansion, digital technologies, AI, and employee training.
Saudi–US trade surpasses $500bn over the past decade
Trade between the Kingdom and the United States has exceeded $500bn over the past 10 years, with trade volume growing more than 50 per cent since 2020.
- In 2024, bilateral trade reached $33bn
- Primary Saudi exports: fertilisers and organic chemical products
- Primary US imports: machinery, equipment, mechanical tools and automobiles totalling $9bn
- Preliminary data show $16bn in trade during the first half of 2025
The Saudi-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council has overseen 27 initiatives across standards, food and pharmaceuticals, AI and intellectual property.
Musk and Huang announce major AI projects
The Forum also included a high-level session led by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha, with participation from Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of xAI, Tesla and SpaceX, and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.
Announced initiatives include:
- A new generation of high-capacity data centres in the Kingdom
- Nationwide deployment of Grok models
- A 500-megawatt large-scale computing project
- Deployment of AI accelerators with AWS and NVIDIA
- Construction of supercomputing systems and advanced digital factories using NVIDIA’s Omniverse
- Collaboration with companies such as HUMAIN on digital infrastructure
Musk noted that technological transformation could make many jobs optional, driving new waves of productivity. Huang underscored AI’s role as a “cornerstone of global infrastructure”.
Minister Alswaha highlighted national innovation in AI-enabled material discovery and nanorobotics for genetic disease treatment.
Strong ties
At the end of the visit, HRH the Crown Prince expressed appreciation to President Trump for the warm welcome and hospitality. President Trump conveyed his best wishes to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and to HRH the Crown Prince, wishing the Saudi people continued progress and prosperity.
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