MBS leaves Washington with $575B in pledged Saudi deals

Amid the social splash and diplomatic advances that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made in Washington this week, the kingdom tallied some $575 billion in deals from two days of rubbing shoulders with America’s corporate elite.

Among the biggest was an agreement between Elon Musk’s xAI, Jensen Huang’s Nvidia and Saudi Arabia’s Humain to build a 500-megawatt data center to bolster the kingdom’s ambitions of becoming a world hub for powering artificial intelligence. 

Humain, meanwhile, which was launched by the Public Investment Fund in May, formed a joint venture with Advanced Micro Devices and Cisco to build more Middle East data centers. Also announced was a deal between PIF-owned mining company Ma’aden and Pentagon-backed MP Materials to build a rare-earth refining facility in Saudi Arabia, challenging China’s dominance in global mineral markets. And Salesforce said it will set up a regional headquarters in Riyadh as it prepares to invest $500 million in AI and cloud services.

Addressing the Crown Prince and an entourage of his Cabinet ministers at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum held at Washington’s Kennedy Center on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “I want to thank you for bringing all those jobs and all those great opportunities to America.”

The deals were made possible, in part, by the U.S. Commerce Department allowing U.S. companies to sell advanced Nvidia chips to both Humain and Abu Dhabi AI company G42, The Wall Street Journal reports.

While the Saudi leader told Trump during their initial meeting this week in the Oval Office that the kingdom plans to spend almost $1 trillion in the U.S. – spanning energy, artificial intelligence, defense and aerospace, finance, infrastructure, education, and healthcare – many of the announcements involved preliminary agreements far from conclusion, The New York Times reports.

That reflects Saudi Arabia’s current financial constraints amid slumping oil prices that have produced serial budget deficits and forced cutbacks in NEOM and several of its other ambitious megaprojects.

Saudi investment minister takes business leaders on Syria mission

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih is leading a trade delegation to Syria that touched down in Damascus on Wednesday with the goal of signing some $4 billion in deals.

At least 120 investors and a cross-section of Saudi officials are part of the group that aims to jumpstart business and assist in Syria’s economic recovery after 14 years of civil war, Arab News reports.

With a meeting between Al Falih and Syrian Economy Minister Mohammad Nidal Al Shaar on the agenda, the delegation was also scheduled to participate in a Syrian-Saudi investment forum and witness the launch of a large cement factory on the outskirts of Damascus. 

Syria’s new President Ahmed Al Sharaa traveled to Riyadh in February for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that included plans for cooperation in the fields of energy, technology, education and health.

The Saudi Embassy in Damascus announced the introduction on Tuesday of special travel permits enabling business people and investors to visit each other’s countries and stimulate economic engagement.

Saudi Arabia’s Future Aviation Forum tallies $19 billion in deals

Saudi Arabia’s Future Aviation Forum entered its second day after tallying 47 separate deals worth $19 billion.

Leading the dealmakers was Saudia Group, which owns flag carrier Saudia Airline and low-cost flyadeal, announcing an order with Airbus on Monday for 105 narrow-body aircraft.

The deal for an undisclosed price was described as the largest purchase ever from a Saudi airline. Saudia’s Airbus order was a setback for Boeing, which has yet to close a deal being negotiated with the kingdom’s new airline, Riyadh Air.

Other transactions included national air service agreements, aircraft orders, cargo and logistics, advanced air mobility, human capability, information technology, and maintenance, repair and overhaul agreements.

Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, President of the Saudi General Authority on Commercial Aviation, called the forum’s first day a “tremendous success, in terms of commercial deals, policy initiatives and agreements to elevate global connectivity.”