Live updates: Follow the latest on Trump's Gulf trip
When US President Donald Trump visited the Gulf in 2017, he was welcomed with swords, spectacle and strategic assurances. Back then, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar were key pillars of a region deeply tied to Washington’s security umbrella.
Now, as Mr Trump prepares to make the first official foreign trip of his second term, he returns to a transformed peninsula – one that has become more self-assured and strategically diversified.
Observers say he will find a Gulf that has shifted economically and diplomatically since his 2017 visit. While the US remains a primary defence partner, it is no longer the sole power shaping the region. Beijing, Brussels, New Delhi and Moscow are now part of a multipolar matrix that Gulf capitals navigate with increasing confidence.
Mr Trump’s visit to Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi comes at a moment when these countries are projecting influence well beyond their borders. From brokering ceasefires, mediating one crisis after another and hosting global investment forums, Gulf states have emerged as active players and architects of a new regional order. They have matured geopolitically, becoming multi-aligned power centres with global ambitions.
“The Gulf has now more options in terms of strategic partners, investment partners and commercial and trade partners,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati non-resident senior fellow at Harvard University.
Yet, while economic ties to China and the East have grown, analysts argue that the US remains the Gulf’s principal military and security guarantor.
“Find me another security partner that has dozens of thousands of troops and powerful assets in the region and that can surge at a moment’s notice to deal with any emerging military contingency and crisis,” Bilal Saab, senior managing director of Trends US and a former Pentagon official in the first Trump administration, told The National. “I’m not convinced there’s another security partner like the US.”
Last week, the State Department approved a possible foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia of AIM-120C-8 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles and related support for $3.5 billion, the Pentagon said in a statement. This came after Reuters reported the US was poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion during Mr Trump's visit to the kingdom.
Major investment agreements are also expected to headline the President’s agenda. Mr Trump said Saudi Arabia had agreed to invest “$1 trillion in our economy", though Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has only confirmed a pledge of $600 billion. Some say Riyadh may struggle to deliver on such a pledge, given the dip in oil prices.
Brent crude prices dropped to under $60 per barrel this week, well below the $100 price Saudi Arabia needs to balance its budget.
Qatar and the UAE are also touting ambitious investment plans of their own. The UAE has announced a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework targeting US-based infrastructure, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, manufacturing and natural gas.
Saudi Arabia
In 2017, Prince Mohammed was a newly ascendant force, consolidating power at home and capturing headlines abroad with sweeping reform plans and controversial moves. Today, the Crown Prince is a more seasoned leader.
Riyadh has positioned itself as a diplomatic hub, mediating in conflicts and leading a pragmatic realignment in the Middle East. The Saudi capital is now the place to be for leaders, chief executives and other players.
The kingdom this year hosted separate US talks with Ukraine and Russia. The Riyadh meeting in February was the first high-level, in-person encounter between Russia and the US since the Ukraine war began.
One priority on Mr Trump’s agenda, according to sources, is to push for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. But Riyadh continues to maintain that establishing ties with Israel is contingent on a Palestinian state being established. Saudi officials have emphasised that, without a clear and irreversible path to Palestinian statehood, establishing ties with Israel is “off the table”. That stance suggests that Mr Trump may face greater resistance than he did in his first term.
Still, it remains possible, said Mr Saab. “But it will require addressing the Israeli people and convincing them that the path forward for their country and its security is without this far-right government," he added.
Many observers, though, say that the American President will press ahead with regional initiatives, with or without Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
UAE
The UAE has parlayed its early embrace of globalisation into a commanding role on the world stage. In 2017, it was already punching above its weight. In 2025, it is a regional heavyweight.
From hosting the Cop28 climate change summit to leading AI innovation and attracting capital from Asia, Africa and the West, the Emirates has become a critical node in the global economy. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds are steering billions into climate tech and semiconductors, while Dubai remains a magnet for billionaires, digital nomads and hedge funds.
Geopolitically, the UAE has taken a hedging approach, maintaining robust ties with the US while deepening relations with China, Russia and India. It also agreed with the EU to launch free trade talks and has been mediating prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.
“Gulf states feel comfortable sitting next to America for the time being and for the foreseeable future,” said Dr Abdulla, adding that the UAE and its neighbours are simultaneously looking East. “Asia is the continent of the future," he noted.
“The UAE and other Gulf nations have recognised the importance of Asia … they are becoming more aware of their Asian affinity and identity than they were eight years ago."
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are incrementally buying more military equipment from non-US suppliers, said Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
"This includes Turkish and Chinese UAVs, South Korean surface-to-air missiles, and, in the UAE's case, Chinese L-15 trainer jets and Russia's point defence system Pantsir," he added. "Nevertheless, the Arab Gulf states remain western-oriented on major air domain purchases, preferring US and European systems."
Qatar
Doha has become a mediator for some of the world’s thorniest conflicts. Qatar has hosted negotiations involving Hamas, the Taliban, and US and EU officials, positioning itself as a unique diplomatic conduit. Its ties to Islamist groups, once viewed as liabilities, are now tools of engagement. During the ongoing Gaza war, Qatar has played a central role in brokering ceasefire proposals and humanitarian corridors.
Its foreign policy clout is backed by a strong economic foundation, including partnerships with European energy companies and long-term LNG deals with Asian buyers. Qatar has managed to retain close ties with Washington while expanding its diplomatic reach.
For Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the US remains a key ally, but not the only one. This time, Mr Trump is visiting a geopolitical crossroads with its own agenda.
"The Arab Gulf states cannot afford to choose between the US, their main and preferred security partner, China, their top trading partner, and Russia, their partner in managing Opec+," said Mr Alhasan. "They are actively positioning themselves as a place for doing business with everyone even as the global economy bifurcates between the US and China."
A Gulf-US summit is expected to take place in Riyadh next week during Mr Trump's trip. Saudi Arabia's King Salman has invited leaders of the GCC to attend the meeting, per sources.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
