ShareUS President Donald Trump is visiting Saudi Arabia, and this trip has made headlines in the Arab press since the past week. Speculations and debate over this visit and its impact will not end any time soon. This is not the first visit by an American president to the region and Saudi Arabia, so what is the importance of this visit?
Facts and figures confirm that no American president has ever visited the holy sites of Islam, Judaism and Christianity in a single trip. Trump's journey starts from Saudi Arabia, then onwards to Israel and the Vatican, so apparently it is not merely a foreign and
diplomatic trip. Another main reason is that three summits have been arranged during the visit.
This is an exceptional event that includes a bilateral summit, a summit with GCC leaders and another meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders. The Saudi-American summit aims at reaffirming the strong friendship and strengthening political, economic and security ties between the two countries. It certainly conveys the
message that no power can defeat terrorism and extremism without the support of the Saudi kingdom and its allies.
The summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council and America aims to discuss the threats to security and stability in the region, and bolster trade relations between the GCC and the United States. Along with the Arab Islamic American summit, these meetings with the US
president illustrate the new US administration's desire to reshape the US position in the region, choke Iranian expansion and differentiate between Muslims and extremists.
These are three vital gatherings to confirm the US' strong return to the region and the GCC fold led by Saudi Arabia. Despite Trump's comments during his election campaign in which he criticized Saudi Arabia and Muslims, many people here are not taking them seriously, and more likely as electoral statements. The choice of Saudi Arabia as his first stop is an attempt to counter widespread
allegations that the US president is hostile to Islam.
It is a good move by Trump, who like all Republicans, appreciates the Saudi role and its importance. Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia
confirms that the points of agreement between the two countries are more than points of difference. It is clear that the move, which coincided with the visit of Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman
to the United States, has enhanced the chances of economic cooperation and security and political and partnership between the two countries to benefit them in the near and long term.
There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia being the choice of Trump's first foreign visit reflects the kingdom's position as a strategic ally of the United States. The visit is an important message to the adversaries of the kingdom as well as its allies, considering the policy of the previous US administration. Trump represents a major shift against Iran and a return to the old strategic relationship between America and Saudi Arabia since 1945.
It is also an opportunity for the US president to sign economic deals and agreements that he knows are important to American voters, because they will create new jobs. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump's visit to the kingdom will witness the signing of several major investment agreements worth $270 billion. Media analyses will continue until the end of the tour and beyond, but the most important question is how this visit will change the rules of the game in the region. With the Trump administration, it will not be long.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
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