Sawt Falasteen - Trump caps Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi with dizzying investment pledges

On his first foreign tour of his second term, Trump oversaw a $200 billion order from Qatar Airways for Boeing jets and a $600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia -- including nearly $142 billion in weapons, which the White House described as the largest-ever arms deal.

Trump also expressed optimism over reaching a new agreement with Iran over its nuclear programme, and in a seismic diplomatic shift, decided to lift decades-long sanctions on Syria.

In Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Trump was greeted with lavish welcomes and hailed the three Arab leaders.

He said that he and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "like each other a lot" -- in sharp contrast with the frosty Saudi-US relations that marked the start of Joe Biden's term.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed lauded a strong partnership between the two countries that grew under Trump's leadership when he vowed to invest $1.4 trillion in the US economy over 10 years.

- Lifting of sanctions -

On Friday morning, Trump is set to attend a business roundtable and later tour the Abrahamic Family House, according to local media.

The complex opened in 2023 and houses a mosque, church and the country's first official synagogue with the aim of promoting interfaith co-existence in the Muslim nation.

In 2020, the UAE normalised ties with Israel as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords under Trump's first administration, which also saw Israel establish diplomatic ties with Bahrain and Morocco.

On Thursday, he held talks with his counterpart President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed after touring the opulent Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque.

Earlier in the trip, the White House said that Saudi company DataVolt will invest $20 billion in artificial intelligence-related sites in the United States, while tech firms including Google will invest in both countries.

Trump also became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, after removing sanctions on the war-torn country following appeals from Saudi's Prince Mohammed and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

- AI ambitions-

There was no announcement of a breakthrough on the Gaza war, which Qatar has been a key mediator, with Trump repeating claims that Washington should "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone".

But Trump said a deal was close on Iran's nuclear programme that would avert military action, sending oil prices tumbling.

He said the trip had resulted in securing "trillions of dollars" but the Gulf leaders' largesse also stirred controversy, with Qatar offering Trump a luxury aircraft ahead of his visit for presidential and then personal use, in what Trump's Democratic opponents charged was blatant corruption.

English-language Emirati newspaper The National has reported that the US and UAE were working on announcing an AI and tech partnership during Trump's visit.

The UAE is seeking to become a leader in technology and especially artificial intelligence to help diversify its oil-reliant economy.

But these ambitions hinge on access to advanced US technologies, including AI chips that were under stringent, restricted export -- which the UAE president's brother and spy chief Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed reportedly lobbied for during a Washington visit in March.

Earlier this week, Trump rescinded further controls on AI chips, which were imposed by his predecessor to make it harder for China to access advanced technology.

K.Hassan--SF-PST