ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday morning, embarking on a regional tour that will also see him travel to Qatar and the UAE.

Upon his arrival in Riyadh in Air Force One, Trump was welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) at the airport, with his arrival marking the president’s first major diplomatic tour of his second administration.

The US president will attend a summit of Gulf leaders before heading to Qatar on Wednesday, rounding off the voyage with a stop in the UAE on Thursday.

Trump is expected to pursue economic commitments with the oil-rich Gulf states during his trip. Earlier this year, MBS stated that Riyadh would invest $600 billion into the US economy over the course of the four years of Trump’s presidency.

In response, the US president quipped, “I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it to around one trillion. I think they’ll do that because we’ve been very good to them.”

Relations with the Gulf states have been salient in the previous Trump administration, with defense, intelligence, and trade links being enhanced.

The US previously came under fire for supporting Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in their military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015, with significant civilian casualties inflicted by US-made weapons resulting in backlash and criticism of Washington’s close ties to the Gulf.

An Amnesty International report from 2018 said, “It is imperative that the [Trump] administration reflects on how its unflinching support to the coalition has contributed to the unlawful killing and injuring of countless civilians, the destruction of homes, schools, and hospitals, and the creation of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe.”

The Trump administration also faced criticism more recently after the president agreed to accept a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar for use as his presidential aircraft, defying convention and raising concerns about foreign lobbying.