Saudi Arabia is willing to expand its investments and trade with the US by $600 billion “and potentially beyond that” in the next four years, the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has told US President Donald Trump.
In a call with Mr Trump, Prince Mohammed “noted the US administration’s ability to create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity through anticipated reforms”, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
“The kingdom seeks to participate in these opportunities for partnership and investment,” it added. It did not reveal specific details about how the amount will be invested.
Mr Trump, in a virtual appearance at Davos, said he hoped the Crown Prince would “round” the investment amount up to $1 trillion.
“It's also reported today in the papers that Saudi Arabia will be investing at least $600 billion in America. But I'll be asking the Crown Prince, who's a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion. I think they'll do that because we've been very good to them. And I'm also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil,” Mr Trump said.
Prince Mohammed and Mr Trump, who share close ties, discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties in various areas, promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, and combat terrorism, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia's leaders maintained close ties with the US under Mr Trump's first stint in the White House. The US leader has several business interests in the region and also chose the kingdom for his first official visit as president in 2017.
In December, the Trump organisation also said it aimed to launch projects in Saudi Arabia and unveiled a two billion Saudi riyal ($533 million) residential development in Jeddah in partnership with London-listed Dar Global. It is looking to start two more projects in Riyadh, executive vice president Eric Trump, the President's son, told The National.
Saudi Arabia’s “market is thriving, you have a country that is pro-growth”, Eric Trump said at the time.
Meanwhile, the US President is also seeking to attract more investment in his country from the Gulf. This month, the UAE's Damac Properties made a $20 billion investment in the US to build data centres, Mr Trump said.
Damac said the centres with a capacity of two gigawatts would be built over the next four years. The first phase will focus on eight US states in the southern and Midwest regions, acquiring land banks, existing data centres and other platforms.
Hussain Sajwani, founder and chairman of the Dubai-based developer, also said it could increase its investment under the right market conditions.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 4 (Mount 18',Werner 44', Hudson-Odoi 49', Havertz 85')
Morecambe 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
