Trump to attend Saudi investment conference in Miami, sources say
US president poised to deliver in-person address to tech leaders and finance executives at FII Priority confab next week promoting Riyadh’s massive wealth fund
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) — US President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a meeting of global financiers and tech executives hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in Miami later in February, according to several people with knowledge of the event.
Trump’s participation would come after Saudi Arabia condemned his call to displace Palestinians from Gaza as part of a US-led plan to redevelop the Strip.
It also follows Trump’s call in January for Riyadh to invest $1 trillion in the US — a figure approximately equal to the size of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s assets.
According to the sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, Trump is scheduled to deliver an in-person address at the gathering.
A Riyadh-based representative for the FII Priority summit, scheduled for February 19 to 21, declined to comment. Representatives for the US embassy in Riyadh didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It demonstrates that the US-Saudi relationship is multi-dimensional and Riyadh is able to compartmentalize policies because it has become increasingly transactional in how it manages foreign relations,” said Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme of London-based think tank Chatham House.
The Trump administration is in the midst of attempting to woo Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel. However, that bid has apparently suffered a setback with Riyadh joining other Arab states in opposing Trump’s plans for clearing some 2 million Palestinians out Gaza and rebuilding the Strip as a “Riviera of the Middle East.” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday that there is an Arab Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its people.
A number of Israel-born executives are listed as speakers at the Miami summit, including Oracle CEO Safra Catz and Bridgewater head Nir Bar Dea. Others poised to attend are TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the $925 billion Saudi Public Investment Fund, according to the FII website. The public website doesn’t list Trump as an attendee.
Trump enjoyed close ties with Gulf states during his first tenure as president, including Saudi Arabia, which has invested $2 billion with a firm of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former aide.
The Trump Organization plans to build a Trump Tower in Riyadh as it expands its real estate portfolio into the region, including in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi.
Trump has called on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil. He has also said Riyadh should increase a planned US investment package to $1 trillion from an initially reported $600 billion.
US exports of goods to Saudi Arabia were significantly higher in value than Saudi foreign direct investment in the US in recent years, government data showed.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
