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The visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington this week is shaping up to be an important turning point in Saudi-US relations. Coming at a crucial crossroads for the region, it promises to address important security and political issues.
The meeting is the two leaders’ second in six months. President Donald Trump made his trip to Riyadh in May his first official foreign visit of his second term, as he did in the first when he made Riyadh the first stop and met with Saudi, Gulf Cooperation Council, and other Arab and Islamic leaders.
There was a historic breakthrough during the May meeting. Through ºÚÁÏÉçÇø’s mediation, Trump met Ahmad Al-Sharaa, Syria’s new president, and announced the lifting of US sanctions on Syria, beginning a process of restoring the long-ruptured relations between the two countries, starting with reopening the US Embassy in Damascus the same month. The reconciliation culminated in Al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House last week, the first by a Syrian president, and the announcement that Syria had become the 90th member of the US-led Global Coalition Against Daesh. Getting Washington and Damascus on speaking terms again was no small feat, given Israel’s strong opposition to that rapprochement.
The shift on Syria was followed by gradual but significant shifts in the US approach to Gaza, the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Sudan, bringing the US and ºÚÁÏÉçÇø closer on these and other regional issues. During the summer, the US lobbied intensively on behalf of Israel on Gaza and tried to scuttle Saudi-French efforts around the two-state solution and recognition of Palestine. However, in September, when Trump met with Arab and Muslim leaders in New York, he unveiled the Gaza peace plan and announced that the US would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, leading to a ceasefire and the Sharm El-Sheikh summit where the peace plan was put into effect.
On Sudan, statements coming out of Washington indicate that there, too, the two countries are getting closer. Gaps remain of course on how the two countries approach some geopolitical problems, and those differences are likely to be on the agenda this week, leading to a greater alignment between Riyadh and Washington on important issues, which is key to addressing regional and global issues.
On energy, the two countries’ positions are closer now than in the past. They are the two largest producers of oil in the world. ºÚÁÏÉçÇø is the largest world exporter and the US the fourth. ºÚÁÏÉçÇø holds the second-largest proven oil reserves, while the US has the ninth. These facts align their interests in both a stable oil market and a balanced transition to renewables.
On investment, ºÚÁÏÉçÇø’s in the US is sizable, but it is difficult to determine the exact level as investments, especially in equities, are carried out by both government and private entities. In 2024, the US Treasury Department estimated Saudi investment in the US at $350 billion, including equities, corporate bonds, and treasuries. Other estimates put the total at $490 billion.
Public Investment Fund’s US equity holdings were estimated at $27 billion in 2024. Press reports indicated brisk trading by Saudi investors in US equities through local brokers of about $52 billion in the second quarter of 2025. 

Coming at a crucial crossroads for the region, the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington this week promises to address important security and political issues.

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

It is also difficult to determine total US investment stock in ºÚÁÏÉçÇø, but in 2023 it was estimated at $54 billion. Thus, a high estimate of the two-way investment had reached about $550 billion before Trump’s visit to ºÚÁÏÉçÇø. Following that, Trump announced ºÚÁÏÉçÇø’s plans to invest $600 billion in the US — in energy, the defense industry, technology leadership, and access to global infrastructure and critical minerals. The US has since announced some of these intended investments.
When all investments go on stream, the total volume of the two-way investment will likely go up significantly, exceeding a trillion dollars.
As during the May summit, another Saudi-US investment summit will be organized in Washington on Nov. 19, where the new investment plans are expected to be announced and those previously announced firmed up.
On trade, more work needs to be done. Last year, the two-way trade in goods was about $26 billion, which is quite low considering the potential of the two countries and about a quarter of Saudi-China trade. Unfortunately, trade is not likely to grow much unless the Trump administration reverses the unjustified increases in tariffs on Saudi exports to the US. It has imposed a 15 percent tariff on Saudi exports to the US, on top of the previous 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum. The rationale behind the new tariffs was to offset US trade deficits with other countries, but that justification does not fit in the case of ºÚÁÏÉçÇø, where the US had a trade surplus of $443 million.
Perhaps the most important topic on the Washington summit’s agenda is security. ºÚÁÏÉçÇø’s vision for regional security is based on a grand bargain of full normalization and regional integration in exchange for abiding by international law and adhering to the UN Charter, including refraining from the use of force or threats to settle disputes.
In the case of Israel, the bargain means the establishment of the Palestinian state along the 1967 borders and allowing Gaza and the West Bank to be united again under the Palestinian Authority. In exchange, the Arab countries, including ºÚÁÏÉçÇø, will extend recognition, diplomatic relations, and economic integration, according to the Arab Peace Initiative.
In the case of Iran, it means adhering to the non-proliferation regime, refraining from meddling in the internal affairs of its neighbors, and stopping support for armed militias and terrorist groups.
For some time now, ºÚÁÏÉçÇø and the US have discussed formalizing their security commitments beyond the assurances frequently made in private and in joint statements, and the Washington summit will likely push the discussions forward toward achieving that goal.

• Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the GCC assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent those of the GCC.
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