Trump’s Gulf tour ends with trillions in deals, a $400m Qatari jet and royal luxury

SMA NEWS – WASHINGTON
During his four-day visit to the Gulf, US President Donald Trump did what he says he does best: deal-making.
In the first foreign tour of his second presidency, Mr Trump secured $2 trillion worth of commercial deals and investment agreements for the US, according to a White House statement on Friday. The focus was on sectors including aviation, artificial intelligence, technology, defence and energy.
During his whirlwind tour of three Gulf states that began on Tuesday, Mr Trump has managed to secure record orders for US plane maker Boeing. The UAE’s Etihad Airways booked 28 wide-body aircraft as part of a deal valued at $14.5 billion, while Qatar Airways signed an agreement for upto 210 jets powered by GE engines in an agreement worth $96 billion.
On the last day of his tour, the American leader secured a $440 billion investment commitment by the UAE in the US energy sector over the next decade.
“The US-UAE deals this week are very significant,” said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
“A key development is the increased access to the most advanced US AI chips, which is very positive and important as the UAE moves towards a more knowledge-based economy.
“AI is a central area of focus for the UAE and one of the challenges previously was access to chips in the US. AI will help boost efficiency in various economic sectors in the UAE, alongside the development of new ones, alongside attracting FDI – so that really stood out.”
Here’s a round-up of the dizzying multibillion dollar deals, from aviation to AI, that were signed during Mr Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, where he was met with lavish displays of luxury and warm hospitality.

Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion pledge
Saudi Arabia has committed to investing $600 billion in the US through a series of deals in energy, defence, technology, infrastructure and critical minerals. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh that “we will work in the next phase to complete additional agreements, reaching $1 trillion”.
• Saudi Arabia will spend $142 billion on US weapons in what Mr Trump said was the biggest single military deal on record.
• Google, Oracle, Salesforce, Advanced Micro Devices, Uber and Saudi-based DataVolt will invest $80 billion in technologies in both countries. DataVolt will spend $20 billion on AI data centres in the US.
• GE Vernova will supply gas turbines and energy solutions totalling $14.2 billion.
• Nvidia will begin shipping 18,000 of its most advanced Blackwell chips to the kingdom for use in a 500MW data centre. The deal came one day ahead of a Biden-era deadline that would have blocked such sales. Nvidia shares surged following a bruising few months.
• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund-backed plane lessor AviLease will buy $4.8 billion worth of Boeing 737-8 passenger jets, in a much-needed boost to the US plane maker.
• Saudi Aramco plans to invest $3.4 billion in its Motiva refinery in Texas, the largest fuel-making plant in the US.
• Elon Musk also sealed a “major” deal for Starlink to enter Saudi Arabia, although the transaction value was not disclosed.
• US technology majors including Nvidia, Amazon Web Services, and Advanced Micro Devices plan to work with the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s recently announced artificial intelligence company Humain.

Qatar Airways gives Boeing ‘record’ deal
The US and Qatar said they signed deals on Wednesday to generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion. They also announced economic deals totalling more than $243.5 billion between the countries.
• Qatar Airways signed an agreement with Boeing for 210 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace valued at $96 billion, the largest on record for the US plane maker, the White House said. The companies said the order includes 130 787 Dreamliners, 30 777X planes and options for 50 more 787 and 777X aircraft.
• Parsons has won 30 projects worth up to $97 billion, the White House said.
• Quantinuum finalised a joint venture agreement with Qatari company Al Rabban Capital under which Qatar will invest up to $1 billion in quantum technologies and workforce development.
• Raytheon secured a $1 billion agreement for Qatar’s acquisition of counter-drone capabilities, signed by the US and Qatari governments.
• General Atomics secured a nearly $2 billion agreement for Qatar’s acquisition of the MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft system.
• The US and Qatar also signed a statement of intent to further strengthen their security partnership, outlining over $38 billion in potential investments, including support for burden-sharing at Al Udeid Air Base and future defence capabilities related to air defence and maritime security.
• Separately, Mr Trump accepted Qatar’s offer of a luxury Boeing 747 but analysts say the plane would need to be retrofitted to standards that the Air Force One currently maintains.

UAE and US agree $200 billion in commercial deals
The US announced a host of commercial and investments deals with the UAE worth $200 billion. The two countries also agreed to deepen co-operation on artificial intelligence.

The US and UAE agreed to create a path for the UAE to buy some of the world’s most advanced AI semi-conductor chips from US companies, in addition to establishing an AI campus.
Etihad Airways placed a $14.5 billion order for 28 Boeing wide-body aircraft, a mix of 787s and 777Xs, powered by GE engines.
The UAE plans to increase the value of its energy investments in the US to $440 billion in the next decade, up from the current $70 billion, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, said in a presentation.
US firms are to invest $60 billion in UAE energy projects.
Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s largest industrial company outside the oil and gas sector, will develop a $4 billion primary aluminium smelter project in Oklahoma.
ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and EOG Resources are partnering with Adnoc for expanded oil and natural gas production valued at $60 billion.
Amazon Web Services, Abu Dhabi tech conglomerate e& and the UAE Cybersecurity Council have teamed up to boost sovereign cloud adoption in the UAE, a move expected to add $181 billion to the digital economy by 2033. They will also be developing a cybersecurity technology innovation centre in the Emirates.