Trump welcomes Saudi Crown Prince on a pomp-filled, deal-making visit

President Donald Trump hosted Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday.

Making his first White House visit in more than seven years, the crown prince was greeted with a lavish display of pomp and ceremony presided over by Trump on the South Lawn, complete with a military honour guard, a cannon salute and a flyover by US warplanes.

Most foreign leaders who come to meet with Trump are driven up to the doors of the West Wing, where the president often greets them. But Prince Mohammed, accompanied by the Saudi prime minister, was welcomed with a formal arrival ceremony on the South Lawn.

Before sitting down for talks, the two leaders chatted amiably as Trump gave Prince Mohammed a tour of presidential portraits lining the wall outside the Oval Office.

Trump then showed the prince the newly-installed Presidential Walk of Fame that features gold-framed images of past presidents along the West Wing colonnade and a photo of an autopen signing the name of former President Joe Biden in place of the Democrat's official portrait.

Trump, during an Oval Office meeting with the prince by his side, commended the Saudi leader for strides made by the kingdom on human rights without providing any specific detail.

"I'm very proud of the job he's done," Trump said. "What's he done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else."

The crown prince for his part announced Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investments in the US to $1 trillion, up from $600 billion that the Saudis said they planned to invest in the United States when Trump visited the kingdom in May.

Prince Mohammed said that his country wanted to normalise relations with Israel through Trump's Abraham Accords, but first needed a "clear path" to Palestinian statehood.

"We want to be part of the Abraham Accords. But we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path of two-state solution," the prince said in the Oval Office alongside Trump.

"We're going to work on that, to be sure that we can prepare the right situation as soon as possible," he added.

Trump said he spoke with Prince Mohammed about the Abraham Accords, adding that he believes he got a positive response.

Prince Mohammed said the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was a "huge mistake."

Prince Mohammed said of the murder -- by Saudi agents -- "it's painful and it's a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again."

Trump described Khashoggi as "extremely controversial," adding "a lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about, whether you like him or didn't like him, things happened, but he (the prince) knew nothing about it."

Trump's family has a strong personal interest in the kingdom. In September, London real estate developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

It's Dar Global's second collaboration with the Trump Organization, the collection of companies controlled by the US president's children, in Saudi Arabia. Last year, the two companies announced the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah.

Trump pushed back on the notion Tuesday that there was a conflict of interest.

"I have nothing to do with the family business," said Trump on Tuesday, adding that his family has relatively little interest in the kingdom.

Trump said on Tuesday that he can see a civilian nuclear deal happening with Saudi Arabia, as he hosts the country's leadership for a White House visit.

During a day of White House diplomacy, Prince Mohammed will hold talks with Trump in the Oval Office, have lunch in the Cabinet Room and attend a formal black-tie dinner in the evening, giving it many of the trappings of a state visit. US and Saudi flags festooned lamp posts in front of the White House.

Trump expects to build on a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge made during his visit to the kingdom in May, which will include the announcement of dozens of targeted projects, a senior US administration official said.

The US and Saudi Arabia were ready to strike deals on Tuesday for defense sales, enhanced cooperation on civil nuclear energy and a multibillion-dollar investment in US artificial intelligence infrastructure, the official said on condition of anonymity. Trump told reporters on Monday, "We'll be selling" F-35s to Saudi, which has requested to buy 48 of the advanced aircraft."

This would be the first US sale of the fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and mark a significant policy shift.

Agencies