U.S. President Donald Trump greets Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, during a dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on November 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday (November 19, 2025) he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, as he hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a gala dinner at the White House.
“Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Mr. Trump said.
“And I’m just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” Mr. Trump said of the designation, which only 19 other countries have previously received.
The heir to the throne, earlier, delighted Mr. Trump by announcing that he was increasing the $600 billion Saudi investment he promised Mr. Trump when the U.S. president visited the country in May.
“We can announce that we are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion for investment,” Prince Mohammed said in the Oval Office.
A grinning Mr. Trump asked him to confirm the figure, to which the Saudi royal replied: “Definitely.”
The grand welcome
Mr. Trump pulled out all the stops for the Saudi Prince, giving him treatment normally reserved for a state visit to the White House, despite the fact that he is not a head of state.
He welcomed the Prince — who is widely known as MBS — on the South Lawn of the White House as cannon fire boomed out, before they watched the noisy flypast by U.S. military jets.
The 79-year-old Republican then showed the prince a new gallery of presidential portraits by the Rose Garden — including one portraying his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden as an autopen.
Published – November 19, 2025 07:15 am IST
