Trump caps Gulf tour with deals

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump yesterday capped his Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi after signing another raft of multi-billion-dollar deals, while also securing a $1.4 trillion (R25 trillion) investment pledge from the UAE.

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The eye-watering amounts of money in investments were accompanied also by the lifting of decades-long sanctions on Syria and renewed optimism over an Iran nuclear deal during the multi-day trip across the Gulf.

On his first foreign tour of his second term, Trump oversaw a $200billion order from Qatar Airways for Boeing jets and a $600bn investment from Saudi Arabia including nearly $142bn in weapons, which the White House described as the largest-ever arms deal.

"I'm just thinking we have a president of the United States doing the selling," Trump quipped, during a business roundtable alongside Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed. "I think I have to be a cheerleader for our country," he added.

On Thursday, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed lauded the strong partnership between the two countries that grew under Trump's leadership and vowed to invest $1.4 trillion in the US economy over 10 years.

The White House said the two countries had also signed business deals worth more than $200bn, including a $60bn partnership with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and a $14.5bn Etihad Airways order of Boeing planes.