The Prague Post - Swords, orbs and fist-bumps: US presidents in Saudi

EUR -
AED 4.284396
AFN 81.07174
ALL 97.923424
AMD 446.342825
ANG 2.087696
AOA 1069.636236
ARS 1587.819476
AUD 1.781877
AWG 2.10253
AZN 1.980601
BAM 1.959121
BBD 2.349082
BDT 142.030745
BGN 1.954045
BHD 0.43978
BIF 3432.285488
BMD 1.166452
BND 1.503549
BOB 8.059661
BRL 6.364977
BSD 1.166377
BTN 102.796242
BWP 15.680579
BYN 3.939377
BYR 22862.462383
BZD 2.345676
CAD 1.60894
CDF 3341.885712
CHF 0.937709
CLF 0.028793
CLP 1129.534402
CNY 8.330913
CNH 8.327628
COP 4673.378924
CRC 589.599384
CUC 1.166452
CUP 30.910982
CVE 110.75407
CZK 24.421656
DJF 207.301712
DKK 7.464559
DOP 73.717606
DZD 151.483968
EGP 56.611658
ERN 17.496782
ETB 166.394355
FJD 2.658053
FKP 0.871151
GBP 0.867584
GEL 3.143634
GGP 0.871151
GHS 14.055854
GIP 0.871151
GMD 83.98404
GNF 10101.475394
GTQ 8.946164
GYD 244.013608
HKD 9.099435
HNL 30.795784
HRK 7.53575
HTG 152.55859
HUF 393.405237
IDR 19197.469688
ILS 3.917634
IMP 0.871151
INR 102.740581
IQD 1528.052333
IRR 49049.313231
ISK 143.588091
JEP 0.871151
JMD 186.155538
JOD 0.827036
JPY 172.647166
KES 151.036877
KGS 101.991154
KHR 4671.640727
KMF 493.991504
KPW 1049.786062
KRW 1622.249187
KWD 0.356724
KYD 0.971947
KZT 629.847606
LAK 25300.34735
LBP 104464.537679
LKR 352.377287
LRD 235.681863
LSL 20.658236
LTL 3.44423
LVL 0.705575
LYD 6.310437
MAD 10.550612
MDL 19.513075
MGA 5219.873597
MKD 61.634472
MMK 2448.542671
MNT 4194.840679
MOP 9.372687
MRU 46.635202
MUR 53.714802
MVR 17.95847
MWK 2026.127254
MXN 21.832328
MYR 4.931179
MZN 74.538104
NAD 20.657539
NGN 1792.288904
NIO 42.926063
NOK 11.706753
NPR 164.473787
NZD 1.984386
OMR 0.448493
PAB 1.166277
PEN 4.127488
PGK 4.937006
PHP 66.813261
PKR 328.76452
PLN 4.253458
PYG 8424.279341
QAR 4.246816
RON 5.076868
RSD 117.182724
RUB 94.478585
RWF 1686.689827
SAR 4.37669
SBD 9.600592
SCR 16.757855
SDG 700.460273
SEK 10.991065
SGD 1.502315
SHP 0.916648
SLE 27.19412
SLL 24459.916251
SOS 666.633837
SRD 45.318414
STD 24143.204704
STN 24.932915
SVC 10.205298
SYP 15165.856031
SZL 20.65747
THB 37.641288
TJS 10.975103
TMT 4.082583
TND 3.363756
TOP 2.731951
TRY 48.01663
TTD 7.900391
TWD 35.835714
TZS 2911.571887
UAH 48.256195
UGX 4120.985162
USD 1.166452
UYU 46.679122
UZS 14493.167679
VES 174.12897
VND 30779.756435
VUV 140.076511
WST 3.104884
XAF 657.07075
XAG 0.028215
XAU 0.000326
XCD 3.152395
XCG 2.101963
XDR 0.813048
XOF 652.631658
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.123665
ZAR 20.61824
ZMK 10499.47315
ZMW 27.738017
ZWL 375.59712
  • RIO

    0.4800

    62.37

    +0.77%

  • BTI

    -0.1450

    55.095

    -0.26%

  • CMSC

    0.0664

    23.725

    +0.28%

  • SCS

    0.0150

    16.785

    +0.09%

  • BCC

    -1.6600

    84.12

    -1.97%

  • CMSD

    0.1650

    23.795

    +0.69%

  • GSK

    0.4850

    39.445

    +1.23%

  • NGG

    0.4800

    68.46

    +0.7%

  • BP

    -0.6550

    34.575

    -1.89%

  • RYCEF

    0.2200

    14.57

    +1.51%

  • JRI

    0.0110

    13.521

    +0.08%

  • BCE

    0.0550

    24.485

    +0.22%

  • AZN

    1.5450

    81.735

    +1.89%

  • RELX

    0.1350

    45.575

    +0.3%

  • RBGPF

    -5.4700

    71.48

    -7.65%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    11.65

    -0.6%

Swords, orbs and fist-bumps: US presidents in Saudi
Swords, orbs and fist-bumps: US presidents in Saudi / Photo: BANDAR AL-JALOUD - Saudi Royal Palace/AFP

Swords, orbs and fist-bumps: US presidents in Saudi

In the first foreign tour of his second term, US President Donald Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday before visiting Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Text size:

Trump is just the latest US president to visit oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Here are some of the most memorable meetings between US leaders and their Saudi allies.

- The Suez handshake -

The foundation for the US and Saudi Arabia's enduring relationship was sealed with a handshake on a boat on Valentine's Day, 1945.

Months before the end of World War II, Saudi king Abdulaziz bin Saud and president Franklin Roosevelt met on board the cruiser USS Quincy in the Suez Canal.

There, a deal was struck resulting in a decades-long partnership that would see the then-nascent kingdom receive military protection in exchange for the US's privileged access to its vast oil reserves.

- Nixon's visit -

Richard Nixon was the first US president to visit Saudi soil when he touched down in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast in June 1974.

It followed a landmark US-Saudi agreement under which Saudi Arabia would sell oil exclusively in greenbacks in return for American military protection and economic and technical support.

The deal helped lead to the US dollar's supremacy in global trade for decades to come.

– First Gulf War -

President George H.W. Bush first visited Saudi Arabia as president ahead of Operation Desert Storm in late 1990, following Iraq's invasion of neighbouring Kuwait.

During the visit, he met King Fahd and Kuwaiti Emir Jaber Al-Sabah, and also addressed American troops based in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia was a key basing area for the US-led operation that pushed Saddam Hussein's troops out of Kuwait in a lightning offensive.

- The Obama snub -

President Barack Obama was a frequent visitor, making four trips during his two terms, including a brief stop in 2015 to offer condolences on the death of King Abdullah.

But Obama's most memorable visit, his last, was one he may prefer to forget.

Months after signing a nuclear deal with Iran, then Saudi Arabia's fierce regional rival, Obama received a somewhat frosty welcome when he arrived in April 2016.

Instead of King Salman, Obama was greeted at the airport by the governor of Riyadh, and the event was not broadcast live on Saudi TV.

- Orbs and swords -

By contrast, Donald Trump arrived with full fanfare when he made Saudi Arabia the first destination of his first term in 2017.

A military fly-past and cannon salute greeted the recently inaugurated Trump, who was also bestowed with a gold medal and took part in a traditional sword dance.

One image from the visit -- Trump, Egypt's president and King Salman standing with their hands on a glowing orb -- quickly set social media alight.

During the trip, the US signed a raft of agreements worth a total of $460 billion, including arms deals amounting to approximately $110 billion.

The honeymoon period later cooled, with Riyadh faulting Trump for failing to respond more aggressively to a 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Huthi rebels that temporarily halved its crude output.

- Biden's fist-bump -

Things did not begin well between Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration.

At a debate in 2019, then candidate Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" because of its human rights record, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

In 2021, Biden declassified an intelligence report that suggested Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the operation against Khashoggi -- an allegation the Saudi authorities deny.

But when Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent energy prices soaring, Biden sought Saudi help to bring them down and ease pressure on US voters.

In July that year Biden flew to Jeddah where he met the Crown Prince and de facto ruler with a fist-bump -- another defining image that went viral.

A.Stransky--TPP