(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump addressed a Saudi-U.S. investment forum hours after signing multiple agreements with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as he began the first leg of a four-day Middle East trip.
Trump thanked his hosts, calling Riyadh a “great place” with “great people,” and referenced his second term’s economic statistics while praising Saudi Arabia.
“We are rocking. The U.S. is the hottest country, with the exception of your country … As long as I’m up here, you’re hotter,” Trump said.
Trump spoke positively of the innovation the Middle East has seen since his visit eight years prior, calling it a “modern and rising” region.
“Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos,” Trump said. “Where it exports technology, not terrorism, and where people of different nations, religions and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other.”
US will lift sanctions against Syria: Trump
Trump announced the United States will lift all sanctions against Syria in order to “give them a chance at greatness.”
“It’s their time to shine,” Trump said, adding that the country should “show us something special.”
The U.S. government has held sanctions against Syria — a designated “State Sponsor of Terrorism” since 1979 — in some form for decades, according to the Department of State.
“If the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside your differences and focus on the interests that unite you, then all humanity will soon be amazed at what we will see here in the geographic center of the world, and the spiritual heart of its greatest faiths,” Trump said.
Trump on Iran nuclear deal: ‘Time is right now’
At the forum, Trump said he isn’t in the Middle East to condemn past Iranian leaders but to offer them a “new and better path” forward.
“I have never believed in having permanent enemies,” he said.
Trump’s comments came days after he dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Iranian officials for a fourth round of talks aimed at persuading Iran to abandon its nuclear program.
“The time is right now for them to choose,” Trump said of a nuclear deal. “The choice is theirs. They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump shares ‘hope’ that Saudi Arabia will join Abraham Accords
Trump also referenced the Abraham Accords — a deal he helped broker that led to Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel — during his first term.
He said it is his “hope” that Saudi Arabia will “soon be joining” the accords.
Saudi Arabia signs cooperation, investment deals with US
As part of Tuesday’s agenda, Trump secured a $600 billion Saudi investment that involves deals on “energy security, defense industry, technology leadership, and access to global infrastructure and critical minerals,” according to the White House.
“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The White House hopes to return more than $1 trillion worth of investments in the United States, a White House official told NewsNation on Tuesday.
Trump’s Middle East itinerary
Talks have been scheduled with some of the world’s richest countries this week, including Qatar and the UAE.
Qatari sources told NewsNation the goal for their stop is $200 billion in business deals. Ethical concerns have arisen after the country offered Trump a free Air Force One replacement — a Boeing 747 worth $400 million.
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”
During the trip, Trump has floated the idea of stepping away from planned stops to visit Turkey as it hosts Ukraine-Russia talks on Thursday.
“I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I am going to be on Thursday,” Trump said Monday. “I’ve got so many meetings. … There’s a possibility there, I guess, if I think things can happen.”
The Kremlin has not said whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Turkey.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.