Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman returns to the White House on Tuesday for his first visit to Washington since 2018, during President Donald Trump's first term.
US-Saudi relations nosedived under former president Joe Biden, who vowed to make Riyadh a "pariah" over human rights concerns. But Mr Trump reset relations in May, when he received an enthusiastic welcome during a trip to Saudi Arabia in which Riyadh committed to investing $600 billion in the US over four years.
This week's White House meeting will focus on security, technology deals and regional politics, with Mr Trump keen to persuade Saudi Arabia to establish relations with Israel and join the Abraham Accords.
Riyadh, however, has said ties with Israel hinged on a credible pathway to a Palestinian state and broader regional security.
"Palestine is not just about Palestinian self-determination, it's really about the de-radicalising and stabilising the entire region," said Gregory Gause, visiting scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington. "And they don't see a prosperous region without Israel and Palestine being somehow integrated into this new order."
Prince Mohammed's visit to Washington comes amid a historic economic transformation for Saudi Arabia, which is in the process of diversifying its economy away from oil as part of its Vision 2030 programme.
Economic agenda
Saudi Arabia's economy has undergone a momentous shift since Prince Mohammed last visited Washington. More women are now in the workforce and the tourism sector is expanding.
It has also deepened its investment ties with the US. A Saudi-US Investment Forum held at the John F Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts on Wednesday is expected to build on the investment forum held in Riyadh in May.
The most notable investment since then has been the leveraged buyout of EA Games. The deal was led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.
Saudi AI startup Humain also announced a $3 billion commitment with Blackstone-backed AirTrunk to establish data centres.
Meanwhile, Hilton announced it is building another hotel in Riyadh and Delta airlines will begin offering direct flights from its Atlanta hub to the Saudi capital early next year.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Yasir Al Rumayyan, who leads the PIF, last week, one of several high-level cabinet discussions that took place in Washington before Prince Mohammed's arrival. According to a Treasury readout, Mr Bessent said the two discussed ways in which the Saudi wealth fund can boost investment into the US.
Mr Al Rumayyan previewed a new long-term investment strategy for the PIF during a Washington event in September. He said it is investing about 80 per cent of its capital locally, with the rest going abroad, and noted the sovereign wealth fund is eager to secure co-investments with international partners to bring money back to the kingdom.
But lower oil prices have put pressure on the kingdom's deficit. Riyadh estimates its 2025 fiscal deficit at 5.3 per cent of GDP, higher than previously forecast, according to the Ministry of Finance's 2026 pre-budget statement. The kingdom projected the 2026 deficit at 3.3 per cent of GDP.
"Saudi Arabia doesn't have a huge capacity to invest large amounts in the US in the way that Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE do because it's focused on investing domestically," said Justin Alexander, director of Khalij Economics and a non-resident fellow a the Baker Institute.
Rachel Ziemba, founder of geopolitical risk firm Ziemba Insights, said there was potential tension for Saudi Arabia as it seeks to attract foreign investment and technology transfers while being less able to invest in the US at the scale that the Trump administration hopes.
"This world of urgent economic development and job creation has come at the same time as lower oil prices and stagnant oil revenues," she said. "The financial math around the pledges to invest in the United States or to invest new money in the United States doesn't add up to me."
Security ties
While Mr Trump remains focused on investments and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, a top priority for the Crown Prince is a concrete gesture of US support for Riyadh's security.
A legally binding mutual defence treaty would require ratification by the US Senate, currently unlikely to pass.
Officials say the agreement would have much of the substance of a treaty, albeit without the guarantees of commitment under future American administrations.
"The Saudis have correctly read the situation in the United States right now, so they're going to go for the best that they can get under under President Trump," said Kristin Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute. "What they really want is something that goes beyond deterrence to an actual partnership on the ground where they can really feel that they have that the United States has their back."
The agreement is similar to the executive order Mr Trump issued in late September, guaranteeing Qatar’s security, including by taking military action if the country comes under attack. That order came weeks after after Israel launched an air strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar, rattling the region.
Saudi Arabia is also pushing for a new weapons package, that includes dozens of F-35 fighter jets.
They are also considering a civil nuclear co-operation deal that would see the US offering technical assistance towards the research and development of nuclear power in the kingdom.
Having nuclear backing, Ms Diwan says, could strengthen the kingdom's hand in security equation with Iran, whose own nuclear programme has been significantly weakened following US strikes on its facilities in June.
A US-Saudi security pact and the nuclear development project have been in the works for years.
And while the headlines are going to be about the security agreement, nuclear negotiations, and large commercial deals, the Crown Prince is looking for the Trump administration to pave the way for the kingdom to play a bigger role in the region, particularly in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and in Gaza.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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.”
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- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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