President Donald Trump landed in Saudi Arabia, along with the First Lady Melania Trump, and was promptly greeted with an elaborate welcome from Saudi King Salman and other high-level Saudi officials on the tarmac once they emerged from Air Force One.
Trump is also expected to announce various new agreements made with Saudi Arabia -- one of which includes a $100 million weapons deal that was lead primarily by Trump's senior adviser, Jared Kushner, according to the New York Times.
It was reported by the Business Insider that the new agreement with Saudia Arabia also includes ships, missile defense systems, and tanks in addition to radar and communications as well as cyber security technology.
Earlier this month, it was reported that President Trump's son-in-law personally called Lockheed Martin CEO during a meeting with a Saudi delegation and asked her to cut the price of a missile defense system, as reported by the New York Times. The phone call was a part of Jared Kushner's effort to secure the $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia before Trump's scheduled trip to the kingdom this weekend, according to The Hill.
The president's stop in the Saudi capital is the first in an eight-day, five-country sweep across the Europe and the Middle East.
Trump's grand welcome featured a military brass band and a fighter jet flyover. The display was a demonstration of how highly anticipated Trump's arrival was to this Middle Eastern kingdom.
The international visit is intended to strengthen partnerships abroad, which can hopefully halt the controversial narrative going on back in the United States. Trump's schedule leads him into the capitals of three great world religions.
Once the president and First Lady Melania Trump emerged from the aircraft, Trump was greeted by the 81-year-old Salman. The two leaders were seen in friendly conversation inside the Royal Terminal at the airport.
