US President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Saudi Arabia tomorrow for his first official visit since beginning his second term, with key discussions expected on the Gaza conflict, economic cooperation, and regional geopolitics, as we go to Luqman Hariz in Riyadh for more.
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00:00U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia tomorrow for his first official visit
00:05since he took the office for the second time. A multitude of issues are expected to be discussed,
00:11including the ongoing Gaza conflict, economic cooperation, and the current geopolitical
00:16environment. For more, we'll go to Luqman Harris in Riyadh.
00:22Yes, indeed. This sweltering 40-degree Riyadh heat is only matched by the suspense
00:27caused by the impending arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia tomorrow.
00:33Saudi Arabia, of course, again becomes the first country of choice for Trump to visit as President,
00:39as we have seen during his first term as U.S. President, signifying the close diplomatic,
00:45military, security, and also symbolic relationship between these two countries.
00:50But those issues that you've mentioned just now are, I guess, a sign of the bigger power play
00:55that we are seeing here. Of course, what Saudi Arabia and the U.S. wants to get out of this meeting
01:02between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS, and President Trump is that Saudi Arabia is set to want
01:08legitimacy and U.S. support for its leadership role within the Middle East, especially with recent
01:15conflicts and increased volatility in the region. U.S., in the meantime, would also want a look to counter
01:21the numerous strategic alliances and partnerships set to have been offered to Saudi Arabia by its rivals,
01:27including China and Russia. And, of course, some of the issues you mentioned just now,
01:31the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the general volatility in the Middle East involving Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
01:38Iran, and also, of course, Israel will also be very much on the table to be discussed here.
01:43As of this point, due to security reasons, of course, we do not know much about what's going to be discussed
01:47or the logistics aspects of it. What we do know is that President Trump's Air Force One will touch down
01:54in Riyadh tomorrow. He will be here for two days, not just meeting MBS and dignitaries of the Saudi
02:00Royal Government, but also members of the Gulf countries. So, a lot of things that are at play here,
02:07a lot of things that will be discussed that will not only shape the future of the Middle East and the U.S.,
02:12but also the world at large. And, of course, everything will be brought to you here from Riyadh by me
02:17on channel 501, astroawani.com, and also Awani International. We will have much more coming up
02:24in the next few days. Stay tuned. For now, back to the studio.