By Anita Kumar / McClatchy Washington Bureau
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The United States completed an arms deal with Saudi Arabia totaling $110 billion Saturday as President Donald Trump seeks to strengthen economic and security ties with one of the world’s largest energy producers.
The agreement, which will take effect immediately, is the largest single arms deal in U.S. history and will create tens of thousands of new jobs in the U.S. defense industrial base, the White House said.
“That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States,” Trump said. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.”
But the Saudi government quickly announced that 150 Lockheed Martin Blackhawk helicopters would be assembled in the kingdom, leading to about 450 jobs in Saudi Arabia.
Trump and Saudi King Salman signed the agreement, as well as other commercial deals totaling $250 billion more, in a signing ceremony late Saturday after a series of meetings and lunch on the president’s first day in Riyadh.
“This is unprecedented,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference. “We have not had an agreement signed by a king of Saudi Arabia and U.S. president to codify this strategic relationship. This was a great accomplishment.”
The arms deal is a victory for Trump, who sold himself as a dealmaker in the presidential campaign but whose domestic achievements have been overshadowed by numerous scandals back home as investigators try to determine whether his associates colluded with Russia in the presidential election last year.
The deal for defense equipment and services is designed to bolster Saudi Arabia as it counters threats from nearby Iran and fights terrorism while reducing the burden on the U.S. military.
The sales will include tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, radar and communications and cybersecurity equipment, the State Department said. Also included are offers of training and support.
“I would give you all a caution, if you haven’t worked these issues before, that first people always give you the figure which is the highest goal,” said Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. “Most of the time it isn’t reached.”
Trump arrived in Riyadh Saturday with pledges to work with Saudi leaders to fight terrorism, boost economic development and counter Iran.
On Sunday, he will meet with leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and speak to more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders, mostly combating violent extremism.
Human Rights Watch urged Trump not to accept the arms deal after Saudi-led coalition, militarily supported by the United States, in Yemen has led to “serious violations of the laws of war.”
“Coalition aircraft have bombed crowded markets and funerals, maimed countless children, and attacked a boat filled with refugees, often using U.S.-made weapons in unlawful attacks,” said Andrea Prasow, deputy Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “Seven million people face starvation in Yemen. If the Trump administration wants to curtail U.S. support for abuses in the Muslim world, it should immediately end arms sales to Saudi Arabia and demand credible investigations of alleged laws-of-war violations.”
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