Trump to hold a summit with Gulf leaders during visit to Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a summit with the leaders of Gulf countries during his official visit to Saudi Arabia in mid-May, according to reports from Axios. The meeting is scheduled for May 14 in Riyadh and could be attended by the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

This summit will be the central moment of Trump's trip, which seeks to strengthen economic cooperation, investments and security between the United States and the Gulf countries. According to official sources, the development of advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence, and possible defense agreements will also be discussed.

Prior to the summit, Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia on May 13 and hold bilateral meetings with senior Saudi officials. He will then travel to Doha on May 15 to meet with Qatar's emir and to Abu Dhabi to meet with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.

As part of strengthening defense ties, the U.S. State Department has already approved a possible sale of air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia, worth U.S. $3.5 billion.

Unlike previous visits, this time, Trump is not expected to push for new diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East, nor does he have plans to visit Israel. U.S. and Israeli officials explained that there are no immediate developments in the conflict in Gaza that would warrant a stop there.

This trip is reminiscent of Trump's first as president in 2017, when he also chose Saudi Arabia as his first international destination. On that occasion, he led a summit with dozens of Arab and Muslim countries. Now, he returns with the intention of showing leadership in the region and reinforcing key alliances in a complex international context.