AYA BATRAWY
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia is making every effort to dazzle and impress President Donald Trump on his first overseas trip, seizing on the visit to cement itself as a major player on the world stage and shove aside rival Iran.
The kingdom has arranged a dizzying schedule of events for the two days Trump will be in town — inviting figures as varied as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, Bret Baier, a host on the Fox News Channel that is popular with Trump and his supporters, and American country singer Toby Keith who is to perform for a male-only crowd in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Trump's decision to make Saudi Arabia his first overseas stop sends a powerful message to the kingdom: the strained ties that marked U.S.-Saudi relations under President Barack Obama are over.
The kingdom wants Trump to align U.S. interests with Saudi Arabia's — and is literally counting down the seconds until Trump starts his meetings Saturday. A website for the visit was launched in English, Arabic and French, featuring a countdown clock under the banner: "Together We Prevail."
"The foundation will be laid for a new beginning" to confront extremist ideology, the website declares, while also touting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 a wide-reaching reform plan launched by King Salman's ambitious son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to overhaul the economy and restyle the country through greater openings for investment and entertainment .
For Saudi Arabia, the most significant event is the Arab-Islamic-U.S. summit, where it plans to showcase the kingdom's reach and drawing power.
King Salman is convening more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders for the summit in Riyadh on Sunday. They will feast with Trump at a banquet and "forge a new partnership " in the war against extremism, the king said this week. Sudan's president, who has been shunned by the United States for the past decade, is among those invited.
"Saudi Arabia is delighted at being the No. 1 (stop for Trump's visit), delighted by the re-emergence of a strong diplomatic relationship with the United States and delighted by the opportunity to show off Saudi leadership of the Arab and the Muslim world by getting everybody to turn up in Riyadh for multiple, overlapping summits," said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute.
Saudi Arabia has long vied to be the Islamic world's center of influence. The kingdom hosts millions of Muslim pilgrims annually at holy sites in Mecca and Medina — a fact that Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, noted when announcing Trump's decision to visit Saudi Arabia first.
The kingdom's control of the holy sites has been criticized by Muslims around the world. In 2015, two major accidents killed several thousand pilgrims, including at least 2,400 people in a crush and stampede of crowds.
Though the Saudi government is framing Trump's visit around a theme of friendship with Washington, prominent Saudis say it boils down to strategic interests .
"President Trump will not come to Riyadh because he loves us. The Gulf and Muslim leaders will not come to Riyadh because they love him," writer Ziad al-Drees wrote in the pan-Arabic newspaper al-Hayat.
"The common interests of these international leaders are what bring them together in Riyadh," he said, including issues ranging from terrorism to rekindling U.S. ties post-Obama.