39-year-old Crown Prince of Saudi ArabiaMohammed bin Salman received heaps of praise from President Donald Trump as Trump said he was very impressed with MBS. Trump said he believes he and MBS like each other “a lot” and called MBS “very wise, wise beyond his years”. Saudi Arabia was Trump’s first stop of a three-day tour, which is also his first official tour after he became the president. Several agreements were signed between the US and Saudi after Trump and MBS spoke on large trade and arms deals. “They are going to walk away with a lot of checks, or a lot of things that you are going to provide,” Trump told MBS, referencing a figure of “probably two million jobs” in the US, without giving details. “Number one, I like visiting with you and we’ve known each other very well, and I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump also told MBS.“Number two,” Trump continued, the US had gotten “tremendous” investment and jobs “and we’ll continue to service your great country very well”.Crown Prince MBS has emerged as a key ally and a mediator in Trump’s efforts to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has so far proven elusive. He has worked hard to cultivate close ties to Trump after his country was largely isolated due to the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.In 2017, Trump’s first foreign trip was to Saudi Arabia but the murder of Khashoggi in 2018 brought a difficult time for US-Saudi relationship though Trump vetoed congressional attempts to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia and continued to praise MBS, describing him as a “friend” who had done a “spectacular job”. After his first term, the Trump family maintained ties with Saudi Arabia with the Trump Organization expanding their business.
