President Trump on Tuesday announced that the US will designate Saudi Arabia as a “major non-NATO ally” during his remarks at a black-tie dinner in honor of the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“We’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Trump said, noting that the designation came shortly after he and bin Salman signed “a historic strategic defense agreement.”
President Trump speaks at a podium with a gold eagle, addressing attendees including the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia at a dinner in the White House. Getty Images
Donald Trump shaking hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a dinner in the East Room of the White House. AP
“I’m just telling you now for the first time, because I wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” Trump told the crown prince from the stage. “I just heard him say, ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ That’s another point you won today.”
The defense agreement “reinforc[es] America’s role as a regional security enabler, enhancing our US military partnerships to better allow partners to deter and defeat threats,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump thanked the crown prince for “the role he played in the transformational peace deal that was achieved last month and so many of the other things that happened to end the war in Gaza.” REUTERS
“The SDA is a win for the America First agenda, making it easier for US defense firms to operate in Saudi Arabia, securing new burden-sharing funds from Saudi Arabia to defray US costs, and affirming that the Kingdom views the United States as its primary strategic partner,” the White House said.
Trump also secured an agreement for Saudi Arabia to buy nearly 300 American military tanks, “enabling Saudi Arabia to build up its own defense capabilities and safeguarding hundreds of American jobs,” according to the White House statement.
Trump thanked the crown prince for “the role he played in the transformational peace deal that was achieved last month and so many of the other things that happened to end the war in Gaza.”
“Gaza, while it looks a little bit messy — it has for many, many years, I will tell you, many decades — but it’s getting very close to being perfected, and people are shocked,” Trump said. “And even the great experts that have gone around criticizing badly every country and every president and everything, they’re all saying that what’s taking place in the Middle East is a miracle.”