Opinion Trump’s visit to the Gulf: A case of great optics, a changing global diplomacy
President Trump is non-ideological and cannot be tied down to history, tradition or past commitments. For him, the means of acquiring wealth are immaterial
President Trump is non-ideological and cannot be tied down to history, tradition or past commitments (SANA via AP)
US President Donald Trump’s four-day state visit to the Gulf that took him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE is interesting for a host of reasons. In May 2017, in his first term, Saudi Arabia was his first foreign visit as President. This time, he also visited Qatar and the UAE. During his earlier visit, King Salman organised a larger meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was attended by representatives from 55 countries, many by their heads of state or government. Iran was a notable exclusion. This time around, Crown Prince Salman, the principal Saudi host, settled for a smaller group of GCC countries; it had the King of Bahrain, the Emirs of Kuwait and Qatar and representatives from Oman and the Emirates. President Trump’s engagements also included Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The smaller audience gave Crown Prince Salman more opportunity and time to impress the status-conscious visitor.
Recognising that President Trump is primarily interested in deals, the Gulf monarchies were at their lavish best. Besides ceremonial receptions and impressive hospitality, they dangled their oil wealth to entice the visitor. At the end of the visit, President Trump could claim that he secured business deals and investment promises to the tune of $2 trillion; of this, $600 billion would come from Saudi Arabia, $200 billion from the UAE and $1.2 trillion from Qatar. Details are still sketchy, as is the time frame, but the optics are impressive, even by Trump’s standards. The pledges include a $142 billion arms deal with Riyadh, orders for 210 Boeing aircraft to Qatar and the Emirati construction of an Artificial Intelligence Campus in the US. The icing on the cake was the “personal gift” of a Boeing 747, which would become a temporary Air Force One for President Trump. Though many Americans see this unusual gift as bribery, the signs are that upon leaving office, Trump would take the “palace in the air” to his presidential library.
On the diplomatic front, Trump’s achievements are mixed. It is futile to write a prepared speech or diplomatic talking points for President Trump. He is unpredictable and disruptive. He was at his best in the Gulf. The most important moment of his visit came with his meeting with Al-Sharra, making him the first American President to meet a Syrian leader since the Bill Clinton-Hafez al-Assad Geneva summit in March 2000. President Trump was so impressed with the “magnificent” and “handsome” Al Sharra that he promised to remove all US sanctions against Syria. By legitimising and recognising the former head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), President Trump has paved the way for Syrian integration into regional politics. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the Trump-Sharaa meeting over the phone. This signals a greater Turkish role not only in the region but also in the ongoing Ukraine mediation.
The brief meeting with Palestinian President Abbas proved fruitful a few days later when Trump told reporters on Air Force One, “A lot of good things are going to happen over the next month. We have to help out the Palestinians. A lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides. But we are going to do a good job.” This is a far cry from the French Riviera he talked of within days of assuming office.
There are a few interesting omissions. He did not visit the Sultanate of Oman, which is playing a key role in American negotiations with Iran aimed at reviving the nuclear deal. The Sultan was also not present in Trump’s meeting with the GCC and was represented by a senior official.
However, the most important talking point was President Trump not visiting Israel. Nor was the Israeli leader present in Riyadh as some had hoped. Much anticipated announcements of progress on the normalisation of Saudi-Israel relations also did not materialise. In recent days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the first foreign leader to meet President Trump in the White House in January — appears to be drifting away from the US. The Israeli leader’s rejection of various ceasefire efforts and pursuit of a renewed Gaza offensive have displeased, if not angered, the US administration. For Trump, who constantly seeks and thrives on media attention and headlines, even the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire appears more realistic than the one in the Gaza Strip. Hence, there was no reference to the peace process or the reconstruction of Gaza, the prime focus of the Arab League summit in Baghdad days after Trump left the region.
The two-trillion economic agenda and deal-making with Gulf Arab countries will boost President Trump’s negotiating position vis-à-vis other major players. In turn, he could force other countries to follow the Gulf model and play along with his tariff demands and investment commitments.
President Trump is non-ideological and cannot be tied down to history, tradition or past commitments. He may not even represent values like liberty, equality, good governance or accountability that several of his predecessors spoke about. Like a shrewd businessman, he is driven by Plutus, the Greek god of money. Under this singular agenda, the means of acquiring wealth are immaterial. Hence, the Gulf visit marks a new beginning not only for the region but also for the rest of the world.
The writer teaches contemporary Middle East at Jawaharlal Nehru University
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