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Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa announced $17 billion in new investments in the United States on Wednesday, including major purchases of American aircraft, engines and technology.
“We’re very happy to be announcing $17 billion worth of deals that are coming to the United States,” the crown prince said during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. “These aren’t fake deals. These are real deals.”
President Trump welcomed the investment, calling it a strong signal of economic partnership. “We appreciate the investment,” he said.
The announcement was made during Khalifa’s third visit to the White House with Trump, following earlier trips in November 2017 and September 2019, which focused on defense cooperation and trade.
This latest visit follows Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East, during which additional investments were announced, including $1.2 trillion from Qatar and $600 million from Saudi Arabia, as well as a $142 billion arms agreement with Saudi Arabia.
“The United States and Saudi Arabia celebrate these and many other deals today as a result of the growing momentum of the last four months. The total package has quickly built to more than $600 billion–the largest set of commercial agreements on record between the two countries,” the White House wrote at the time.
Among the agreements unveiled on Wednesday, Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, will purchase 12 Boeing jets, valued at approximately $7 billion, with an option for six additional jets. The deal also includes the sale of 40 GE jet engines. According to the White House, the Boeing and GE contracts are expected to support approximately 30,000 American jobs.
Bahrain also plans to invest in U.S. industries, including aluminum, natural gas, and advanced artificial intelligence chips. The country is set to replace its Chinese servers with American technology, purchasing infrastructure from Oracle and Cisco.
In addition, Bahrain signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States to begin discussions on developing commercial nuclear capabilities. The framework was formalized during a signing ceremony hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
