WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has announced the elevation of US–Saudi relations, declaring the Kingdom a major non-NATO US ally as Washington and Riyadh move to consolidate their long-standing strategic partnership.
“I’m pleased to announce that 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 as he hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a formal dinner at the White House on Tuesday.
“I’m just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight… That’s another point you won today, and signing a historic strategic defense agreement, which we just signed a little while ago. So congratulations,” he added to applause.
Major non-NATO allies are granted certain defense trade and security cooperation benefits, including the ability to enter into joint research and development programs with the Pentagon and having privileged access to US weaponry, training, and loans.
Other major non-NATO allies include Bahrain, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, Qatar, South Korea, and Tunisia.
The White House earlier said that Trump and Mohammed bin Salman signed a strategic defence agreement that it said “strengthens our more than 80-year defense partnership and fortifies deterrence across the Middle East.”
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman said on Tuesday that the Kingdom will increase its investments in the United States to $1 trillion, up from the $600 billion previously pledged, during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
“I believe, Mr. President, today and tomorrow, we can announce that we are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion for investment, real investment, and real opportunity,” the Crown Prince said during a press conference.
Trump also said on Tuesday that the US would sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to the Kingdom.
The Saudi Crown Prince said discussions with Trump and US officials during his visit would revolve around multi-billion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
During their press conference, Crown Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia wants to ensure regional security. He called for a clear path toward a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trump also said he can see a civilian nuclear deal happening with the Kingdom and that he had reached a defence deal with Saudi Arabia.
The Crown Prince arrived at the White House earlier on Tuesday, where he was welcomed by Trump. US fighter jets flew over the White House as part of the official ceremony in honour of the Crown Prince.
Earlier, Trump welcomed him with a military guard of honour, a cannon salute, and a flyover by US warplanes.
Hours before the Crown Prince’s arrival, Trump said he is considering authorising the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
“I will say that we will be doing that. We’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump told reporters when asked about the possibility.
He said Riyadh had shown a strong interest in purchasing the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft. “They wanna buy a lot of jets,” he said. “They’ve asked me to look at it. They want to buy a lot of 35, but they want to buy actually more than that, fighter jets.”
Saudi-US trade volume exceeds $500 billion
The volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and the United States has surpassed $500 billion over the past decade, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Since 2020, the trade volume has grown by more than 50%, underlining the depth of economic ties between the two countries.
In 2024, total trade reached approximately $33 billion. Key Saudi exports included fertilisers and organic chemical products, while primary US imports consisted of machinery, equipment, mechanical tools and automobiles, amounting to $9 billion.
Preliminary data show that trade between the two nations reached around $16 billion in the first half of 2025.
