Seoul Gazette - Swords, orbs and fist-bumps: US presidents in Saudi

Trump is just the latest US president to visit oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Here are some of the most memorable meetings between US leaders and their Saudi allies.

- The Suez handshake -

The foundation for the US and Saudi Arabia's enduring relationship was sealed with a handshake on a boat on Valentine's Day, 1945.

Months before the end of World War II, Saudi king Abdulaziz bin Saud and president Franklin Roosevelt met on board the cruiser USS Quincy in the Suez Canal.

There, a deal was struck resulting in a decades-long partnership that would see the then-nascent kingdom receive military protection in exchange for the US's privileged access to its vast oil reserves.

- Nixon's visit -

Richard Nixon was the first US president to visit Saudi soil when he touched down in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast in June 1974.

It followed a landmark US-Saudi agreement under which Saudi Arabia would sell oil exclusively in greenbacks in return for American military protection and economic and technical support.

The deal helped lead to the US dollar's supremacy in global trade for decades to come.

– First Gulf War -

President George H.W. Bush first visited Saudi Arabia as president ahead of Operation Desert Storm in late 1990, following Iraq's invasion of neighbouring Kuwait.

During the visit, he met King Fahd and Kuwaiti Emir Jaber Al-Sabah, and also addressed American troops based in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia was a key basing area for the US-led operation that pushed Saddam Hussein's troops out of Kuwait in a lightning offensive.

- The Obama snub -

President Barack Obama was a frequent visitor, making four trips during his two terms, including a brief stop in 2015 to offer condolences on the death of King Abdullah.

But Obama's most memorable visit, his last, was one he may prefer to forget.

Months after signing a nuclear deal with Iran, then Saudi Arabia's fierce regional rival, Obama received a somewhat frosty welcome when he arrived in April 2016.

Instead of King Salman, Obama was greeted at the airport by the governor of Riyadh, and the event was not broadcast live on Saudi TV.

- Orbs and swords -

By contrast, Donald Trump arrived with full fanfare when he made Saudi Arabia the first destination of his first term in 2017.

A military fly-past and cannon salute greeted the recently inaugurated Trump, who was also bestowed with a gold medal and took part in a traditional sword dance.

One image from the visit -- Trump, Egypt's president and King Salman standing with their hands on a glowing orb -- quickly set social media alight.

During the trip, the US signed a raft of agreements worth a total of $460 billion, including arms deals amounting to approximately $110 billion.

The honeymoon period later cooled, with Riyadh faulting Trump for failing to respond more aggressively to a 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Huthi rebels that temporarily halved its crude output.

- Biden's fist-bump -

Things did not begin well between Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration.

At a debate in 2019, then candidate Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" because of its human rights record, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

In 2021, Biden declassified an intelligence report that suggested Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the operation against Khashoggi -- an allegation the Saudi authorities deny.

But when Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent energy prices soaring, Biden sought Saudi help to bring them down and ease pressure on US voters.

In July that year Biden flew to Jeddah where he met the Crown Prince and de facto ruler with a fist-bump -- another defining image that went viral.

I.Do--SG