US and Saudi Arabia ink historic $142 billion deal, including nuclear energy and F-35 fighter jets

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) arrived on a US visit and met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday. This marks the first time in nearly seven years that the Saudi Crown Prince has visited the US. Several historic agreements were signed between the two countries.

The Crown Prince and the US President met at the White House. During their meeting, the two countries also signed a historic nuclear agreement. They also approved a Joint Declaration on Civil Nuclear Energy.

It should be noted that before meeting with MBS, the US President announced on Monday that the US would sell F-35S fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Following Saudi Arabia's request, the US will deliver 48 F-35S fighter jets. The two countries have also finalized the delivery of approximately 300 US tanks.

They also signed the US-Saudi Strategic Defense Agreement (SDA), in addition to agreements on civil nuclear energy, a critical minerals framework, and an AI memorandum of understanding (MoU), according to a White House statement.

It should be noted that until now, only Israel was authorized to acquire F-35s. However, this deal with Saudi Arabia is about to change that. When Trump was questioned about this, he stated that Israel was already aware of the deal. Both Saudi Arabia and Israel are good friends of the United States.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's investment in the United States is set to increase from $600 billion to $1 trillion. The Crown Prince himself has revealed this information. Things have been rocky between the US and Saudi Arabia since the 2018 murder of American journalist Jamal Rakhabi. However, the US President is now pushing to improve relations with Saudi Arabia.

During a lavish dinner party for the Crown Prince, Trump declared Saudi Arabia a Major Non-NATO Ally, a status the US has granted to only 19 countries.