Description: US President Donald Trum hosted Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, as he separately discussed regional issues and bilateral economic cooperation with the Middle East leaders. Trump followed up on his first foreign visit in the Gulf states, when he visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, as the President continued to develop strong strategic ties with traditionally close allied countries in the Middle East. Speaking at a press conference, Al Khalifa announced investments in the US which would reportedly amount to $17 billion stretching across several key industries such as defense cooperation, aerospace industry and telecommunications. Trump and Al Khalifa signed several memorandums of cooperation with one of them reportedly establishing a framework for US – sponsored development of civilian nuclear capabilities in Bahrain.
Impact: The visits from the Qatar and Bahrain dignitaries in the White House signals diplomatic capitalization on Trump’s Middle East tour as well as strategic consolidation of US interests in the region. Qatar is largely involved in the mediating efforts for achieving success regarding the Gaza ceasefire and the meeting was most probably used by Trump to gather firsthand knowledge of the actual progress of the negotiations. The US President most probably also discussed the ongoing crisis in Syria with the sectarian violence and the situation with Iran, as previous occurrences have demonstrated a high-level coordination in response between the US and its Middle East allies. Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet and other substantiative military assets in the region which indicates the meetings could have been used as a coordinative initiative for potential escalation in the Middle East in the upcoming period.