Trump announces trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Vatican

Donald Trump on Thursday announced his first foreign trip as president will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican - the spiritual centres of Islam, Judaism and Catholicism.

Trump will add the three stops to an already announced visit to NATO and G7 summits in Brussels and Sicily later this month.

"My first foreign trip as president of the United States will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, and then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome," Trump said in a Rose Garden announcement.

Aides described the decision to make Saudi Arabia the coveted first presidential stop as an effort to reset relations with the Muslim world.

There, Trump will meet with leaders from across the Gulf and broader Middle East in the hope of curbing militant groups and Iran's growing regional influence.

"Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the two holiest sites in Islam," said Trump, who has frequently been accused of fuelling Islamophobia.

Trump said in Saudi Arabia he would "begin to construct a new foundation of cooperation and support with our Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for young Muslims in their countries".

The aim, one senior administration official said, was to reverse a trend "of America's disengagement from the world and some of its biggest problems".

During President Barack Obama's tenure, relations with the Gulf States, and Saudi Arabia in particular, were strained over his administration's engagement with Iran.

Trump's administration - which includes many generals who have had bitter personal experience with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Lebanon - has vowed to push back against Iranian influence across the region.

Unorthodox move

Trump's decision to visit Saudi Arabia first is a typically unorthodox move.

Last week, Trump complained about Saudi Arabia not paying its fair share for US defence.

"Frankly, Saudi Arabia has not treated us fairly, because we are losing a tremendous amount of money in defending Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Although the kingdom is a long-time US ally, Trump will be the first president since Jimmy Carter not to visit Canada or Mexico first.

"It seems to me part of a conscious effort to draw a distinction between the Trump Administration and its predecessor," said Eric Pelofsky, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Obama's National Security Council senior director for North Africa and Yemen.

"Going there first, rather than Israel or one of our neighbours - Canada or Mexico - is clearly purposeful, potentially building a foundation for other moves like in the Middle East peace process, Iran, and perhaps elsewhere."  

Lori Plotkin Boghardt, a former US intelligence analyst who is also at the Washington Institute, said Trump's decision would send "an important signal to the Saudis that this administration wants to prioritise them as key partners on regional issues and beyond."

Saudi Arabia’s powerful deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, met with Trump at the White House in March. A senior adviser to the Saudi royal called Trump after the visit a “true friend of Muslims who will serve the Muslim World in an unimaginable manner”.

Peacemaker

The visit comes as Trump wades into Middle East peacemaking, trying to reach a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, a goal that has eluded his predecessors and countless diplomats.

Trump is expected to meet both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on the trip.

A senior aide did not rule out the possibility of a presidential stop in the West Bank, but that is likely to be contingent on security and Abbas taking what the official described as concrete steps toward peace.

Trump on Wednesday hosted Abbas at the White House, pledging to help end the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

"It is something that I think is, frankly, maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years," Trump said, exuding his trademark bravado.

From there Trump will travel to the Vatican, where he will be received by Pope Francis on 24 May.