Trump pledges to lift Syria sanctions as he seals $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit

President Donald Trump has said the US has "no stronger partner" than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip - a whirlwind visit of Gulf countries mainly focused on shoring up investment.

Speaking in Riyadh, the US president also pledged to lift all sanctions against Syria, saying it was now time for the country to move forward with "a chance at greatness".

Day one of the tour saw the US and Saudi Arabia announce a $142bn (£107bn) arms deal, as well as other investments that the country's crown prince said could eventually be worth $1tn.

Trump also made Saudi Arabia the first foreign stop during his first term, in 2017. The rest of his trip will include stops in Qatar and the UAE.

Trump's arrival in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday was met with a grand reception, including a lavish lavender-coloured carpet rolled out to greet him. He had even chosen a purple tie to match it.

Riyadh swapped red carpets for lavender in 2021, saying that it was a symbol of the kingdom's desert wildflowers and generosity.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Trump on the tarmac and provided an honour guard of Arabian horses to accompany his presidential limo.

In his remarks at an investment forum, Trump lauded the US-Saudi relationship as "more powerful than ever before".

"From the moment we started we've seen wealth that has poured - and is pouring - into America," he said.

Trump is trying to woo foreign investors to the US to boost the American economy, a key focus of his administration in the nearly four months of his second term.

"I like him too much," Trump said of Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de-facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. "That's why we give so much."

The pomp and ceremony was a step up from the muted welcome for former US President Joe Biden, who travelled to the oil-rich kingdom in 2022 to seek their help in lowering petrol prices, fist-bumping the crown prince.

That visit came two years after he declared Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state following the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump flew to the Gulf to strike financial deals and argued in his speech that it is through this kind of commerce and economic development that the Middle East would transcend violence and division.

Underscoring his commitment to deal-making, Trump was joined by a number of business leaders including billionaire ally Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The high-profile executives are meeting a Saudi Arabia eager to diversify its oil-rich economy by increasing its artificial intelligence capabilities.

Mr Huang announced during the visit that Nvidia will sell more than 18,000 of its latest AI chips to Saudi company Humain.