US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a Strategic Economic Partnership Document and several other agreements on May 13, as American business titans gathered in the Saudi capital for a high-profile investment forum, bnm IntelliNews has learned.

The agreements, signed during a formal ceremony at the Royal Court in Riyadh, include defence cooperation to modernise Saudi armed forces, partnerships between NASA and the Saudi Space Agency, and cooperation in energy and mineral resources.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, is reportedly offering $600bn in Saudi investments to the United States, though Trump is said to be pushing for $1 trillion. "We've been very good to them," Trump remarked on May 13.

The White House noted: "Underscoring our commitment to strengthening our defence and security partnership, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed the largest defence sales agreement in history—nearly $142bn, providing Saudi Arabia with state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen US defence firms."

The showcase of American business leaders at the Saudi-US investment forum included Tesla founder Elon Musk, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and executives from BlackRock, Citigroup, IBM, Coca-Cola, and major airlines. Musk, who recently announced plans to scale back his role at Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, launched a Tesla dealership in the kingdom last month.

Earlier in the day, speaking at the forum, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih highlighted the kingdom's macroeconomic stability and growing stock market as attractions for investors.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent affirmed that developing the relationship with Saudi Arabia remains "a top priority" for the Trump administration.

The economic ties between the nations already run deep, with Saudi Arabia holding more than $100bn in US Treasury bonds and $2bn in an investment fund managed by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who did not join the trip. The volume of trade between the countries reached $32bn in 2024.

Trump will continue his Middle East tour with visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates later this week, both countries where the Trump family has business interests, including recently launched residential towers in Dubai and Jeddah, and a luxury golf resort in Qatar.

According to American statistics, US direct investments in Saudi Arabia reached approximately $15.3bn in 2024, with oil and gas, as well as technology firms leading the way.