President Trump said Monday that he will travel to the Middle East in the coming weeks for what is slated to be the first foreign trip of his second term.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with a possible stop in the United Arab Emirates. The president teased there could be other countries included on the trip as well.
“I have a very good relationship with the Middle East,” Trump said, arguing that the visit would be important for investments in the United States.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced in January that the kingdom plans to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years.
Trump said the trip “could be next month, maybe a little bit later.” The president had previously suggested he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia in the coming months as part of peace talks in Ukraine. It’s unclear if that would be part of the trip Trump outlined on Monday.
Trump’s first foreign trip of his first term also was to the Middle East. Trump visited Saudi Arabia and Israel in May of 2017, followed by a trip to Italy for a meeting with the Pope and Belgium for the NATO summit.
