Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to visit the White House on November 18 for an official working meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, a White House official confirmed Monday.
The visit comes as Trump seeks to persuade Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, a landmark series of agreements the U.S. brokered in 2020 that normalized Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
So far, Riyadh has been cautious, maintaining that progress toward Palestinian statehood must come before it signs on. However, Trump expressed optimism in a recent CBS 60 Minutes interview, saying he believes the Saudis will “ultimately join the accords.”
In addition to regional diplomacy, the two leaders are expected to discuss a potential U.S.-Saudi defense agreement, according to The Financial Times, which reported that both sides were exploring the possibility of signing a deal during the visit.
A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that discussions are ongoing, noting, “There are talks about signing something when the crown prince comes, but details are still in flux.”
Saudi Arabia has been seeking formal U.S. defense guarantees and greater access to advanced American weaponry. The kingdom remains one of the largest purchasers of U.S. arms, a partnership rooted in decades of cooperation—trading oil for security.
During Trump’s earlier visit to Riyadh in May, Washington agreed to a massive $142 billion arms package, further cementing the two nations’ strategic alliance.
