Saudi Arabia plans to spend $600B in investments, trade with US over next 4 years

Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it is planning to expand its investments and trade with the United States by an amount of $600 billion and possibly beyond over the next four years.

This came during the first phone call between the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump, who assumed office on Monday, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

It said the crown prince congratulated Trump on his inauguration as the US president, and they discussed bilateral relations and regional developments.

The two leaders also discussed ways for cooperation between the two countries "to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism."

Bin Salman also affirmed the kingdom's "intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that," SPA added.

The readout, however, did not elaborate further on the nature of the investments with the US.

During his first tenure (2017-2021), Trump made his first abroad trip to Saudi Arabia, reflecting warm bilateral ties. He earlier told reporters that he would repeat his visit to the kingdom if the latter agrees to purchase American products worth up to $500 billion.