(NewsNation) — An agreement was reached Wednesday for Qatar Airways to purchase between 160 and 200 Boeing aircraft, according to the White House, the latest in a blitz of business dealings during President Donald Trump’s Middle East trip.
The deal, first reported by NewsNation on Tuesday, is the “largest order of jets in the history of Boeing,” according to Trump. It includes Boeing 777X and 787 Dreamliner jets.
Trump said Wednesday the deal includes 160 jets, which will be produced over a seven-year period from 2029 to 2036.
“This historic agreement will support 154,000 U.S. jobs annually, totaling over 1 million jobs in the United States during the course of production and delivery of this deal,” the White House said.
The administration said the agreement has a $243.5 billion price tag, though Boeing has not yet confirmed or commented on details of the agreement.
Trump also brokered a nearly $2 billion defense agreement for the acquisition of MQ-9B drones, and “$38 billion in potential investments, including support for burden-sharing at Al Udeid Air Base,” the White House said.
“I think after signing these documents, we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States,” said Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. “So I just wanted to thank you, Mr. President, for this historic visit.”
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.’”
Trump meets with Syrian leader after vowing to lift sanctions
Trump also met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a onetime insurgent with ties to al-Qaeda who was imprisoned by U.S. troops for several years, in the first such meeting between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.
The nearly hourlong meeting came after Trump announced in Saudi Arabia that the United States would lift all sanctions against Syria.
I am “ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start,” Trump told the Gulf Cooperation Council after his meeting. “It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined by phone and commended Trump for lifting the sanctions on Syria. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump’s decision “courageous.”
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.
Trump’s Middle East schedule
In Doha on Wednesday, Trump is expected to participate in a state visit, followed by a state dinner.
Trump visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, where he attended an investment forum alongside some of the world’s top business leaders and secured $600 billion in investments from Saudi Arabia.
He is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates later this week and has floated the idea of stepping away from planned stops to visit Turkey as it hosts Ukraine-Russia talks on Thursday.
NewsNation partner The Hill and the Associated Press contributed to this report.