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  • U.S. President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh.

    U.S. President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh. | Photo: Reuters

Published 21 May 2017
Opinion
Fighting terrorism, being successful where Obama failed and creating U.S. jobs top Trump's agenda in Saudi Arabia.

After four months in office, President of the United States Donald J. Trump embarked on his first international trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, followed by Israel, the West Bank, the Vatican, Italy and Belgium, where he will attend G-7 and NATO Summits, respectively.

OPINION: 
Palestinians Call for 'Day of Rage' During Donald Trump's Visit

After a campaign filled with fierce rhetoric toward Muslims and Islam, why would President Trump chose the heart of the Arab world as the first nation to travel to as President?

A closer look reveals three core objectives in Saudi Arabia aligned with Trump’s domestic agenda.

1. Advance the fight against Islamic terrorism

President Trump and his close cadres of military advisors have likely impressed upon him the importance of Saudi Arabia as a military ally in both the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and in countering threats posed by Iran. While in Saudi Arabia, military and defense coordination to resolve the crisis in Syria and to develop a strategy to balance Iran will take center stage in both bilateral and multilateral fora. President Trump will deliver a speech on Islam, an opportunity to make amends with Muslims the world over, and inaugurate a counterterrorism center. However, this speech comes with significant risks of offending his host country. Others are wary because the speechwriter is the architect of Trump’s notorious “Muslim Ban.”

2. Be successful where Obama failed

Former President Barack Obama had strained relationships with Saudi Arabia, and other Arab leaders, who viewed him as out of touch with the region and pursuing a dangerous agreement with Iran. Thus, engaging with leaders of the Middle East has been President Trump’s ultimate comfort zone during his first 100-days in office. In this timeframe, President Trump has hosted more than four Arab leaders at the White House, and declared an effective re-set of U.S.-Saudi relations, the most influential nation in the region. Saudi Arabia can also play a critical role in brokering peace between the Arab world and Israel, an elusive feat for every U.S. President since the formation of the State of Israel. If Trump achieves even modest progress on advancing the peace process, it would be a historic win.

3. Create U.S. jobs and fix U.S. infrastructure

President Trump will display his, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s, deal-making skills, stressing that the alliance with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations offers attractive business opportunities for U.S. companies, putting the spotlight on Arab nations as serious businessmen. The President will use his now-famous signature gracing more than 40 executive orders to sign new U.S-Saudi deals: one for $110 billion in defense equipment and training that the Saudis will purchase from U.S. companies, as well as another $40 billion that Saudi Arabia will invest in U.S. infrastructure. These deals and more are expected to be formalized during President Trump’s visit. Both defense and infrastructure are a match for Trump’s economic agenda. For the Saudis, the visit offers them the chance to showcase the reforms the country is making as part of its Vision 2030 Plan to diversify the economy away from oil. Several deals are expected to be announced from U.S. companies investing in Saudi Arabia.

This trip can serve as a real confidence-booster for President Trump as scandals intensify back home in Washington. President Trump will look to seize the opportunity to return to the White House with political, military and business victories to help silence his critics — or at least get them talking about something else.  

Geovanny Vicente Romero is the founder of the Dominican Republic Center of Public Policy, Leadership and Development (CPDL-RD). He is a political analyst, international consultant and lecturer based in Washington, D.C. Reach him on Twitter @geovannyvicentr

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