Saudi-US summit signals a strategic recalibration far beyond trade and investment |
The upcoming visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington marks a pivotal moment not just in bilateral relations, but in the broader regional realignment unfolding across the Middle East. While official statements highlight cooperation in trade, investment, and energy, the summit’s significance extends far beyond economics. It comes at a sensitive geopolitical juncture-one defined by shifting alliances, evolving security landscapes, and an American administration recalibrating many of its past regional assumptions.
This will be the Crown Prince’s second meeting with President Donald Trump in just six months. The frequency itself underscores the depth of engagement that both capitals are seeking as they try to synchronize policies amid rapid developments in Syria, Gaza, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Sudan. The momentum began with Trump’s May trip to Riyadh-his first foreign visit of his second presidential term, mirroring the symbolic importance of his first-term visit. During that May meeting, the two leaders oversaw a dramatic breakthrough that few policymakers or analysts had anticipated.
Through determined Saudi mediation, Trump held an unprecedented meeting with Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the new Syrian president, leading to a historic shift in US policy. The long-standing US sanctions regime on Syria was dismantled, and Washington reopened its embassy in Damascus-steps that were unthinkable for more than a decade. The rapprochement was finalized symbolically through Al-Sharaa’s recent visit to the White House, marking the first-ever entry of a Syrian president into the Oval Office.
Perhaps even more remarkable was Syria’s accession as the 90th member of the US-led Global Coalition Against Daesh. The move signaled not only a strategic pivot in Washington’s approach to Syria, but a clear indication that Riyadh had succeeded in bringing previously irreconcilable parties back into diplomatic conversation. This success occurred despite strong objections from Israel, which had opposed any US-Syria........