The 2017 Riyadh summit (Arabic: قمة الرياض 2017) was a series of three summits held on 20–21 May 2017 on the occasion of the visit of United States President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia, his first trip overseas. The summit included one bilateral meeting, between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and two multilateral meetings, one between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the other with Arab and Muslim countries.[1] Leaders and representatives of 54 Arab and Muslim countries, all members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United States took part.[2] Iran and Turkey boycotted the summit, and Syria was not invited.
On May 20, 2017, U.S. PresidentDonald Trump signed a US$350 billion arms deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[8][9] The arms deal was the largest in world history.[10][8][11] The transaction included tanks, combat ships missile defence systems, as well as radar, communications and cybersecurity technology. The transfer was widely seen as a counterbalance against the influence of Iran in the region.[12][13] The arms transfer was described by news outlets as a "significant" and "historic" expansion of United States relations with Saudi Arabia.[14][15][16][17][18]
United States – Gulf Cooperation Council Summit
Trump met with GCC leaders the morning of May 21.[1]
At the close of the summit the leaders inaugurated the new Global Center for Combating Extremism in Riyadh, intended as a centre of excellence for fighting violent extremism which is conducive to terrorism, involving a number of international counter-extremism experts.[19] To officially open the center King Salman, President Trump, and President el-Sisi placed their hands on a glowing orb in the shape of a globe, which was cause for mirth among the international media.[20]
Emboldened by Trump's criticism of Iran, many Arab countries decided to take action against their perceived enemies. Bahrain began cracking down on its Shi'ite majority, killing 5 and arresting 286 people. Bahrain also shut down an independent newspaper and outlawed country's last opposition group.[30]
On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Egypt and Bahrain all announced they were cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar.[30]Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted, "What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance," referring to Trump's conduct at the Summit.[31][32]
Popular culture
An image of King Salman, U.S. President Trump, and Egyptian President el-Sisi touching an illuminated globe (see above) sparked a brief commotion on the Internet, particularly the social media website Twitter. Users dubbed the globe "the Orb" and made reference to various popular culture objects, such as the Palantír from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series and "The Orb of Peace" from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[33][34]The Atlantic's James Parker later wrote that "Every presidency has iconic photographs. But there’s nothing else like this one."[35]
Noticing that Americans wanted to have their picture taken with the orb, the Saudi government gave it to the US embassy as a gift. The orb was initially put on display there, but ultimately put into storage.[36]
^"Raw: President Trump Arrives in Saudi Arabia". YouTube. Associated Press. May 20, 2017. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday. It is the president's first foreign visit since his inauguration. (May 20)
^Rucker, Philip; DeYoung, Karen (May 20, 2017). "Trump gets elaborate welcome in Saudi Arabia as he embarks on first foreign trip". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017. President Trump arrived here Saturday for his debut on the world stage [...] After Air Force One touched down in Riyadh shortly before 10 a.m. local time [...] Chatting through an interpreter, the two men sat for a cup of coffee inside the ornate V.I.P. reception terminal at King Khalid International Airport. Salman rode with Trump in the president's armored Cadillac for the drive into the city.
^Finnegan, Connor (May 19, 2017). "What to watch for in President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017. Sunni Saudi Arabia did not invite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a Shiite, instead inviting the much less powerful Iraqi president Fuad Masum, a Sunni Kurd. The perceived insult was seen to alienate Abadi, a crucial partner in the international fight against ISIS, and as one former U.S. ambassador told ABC News, it betrays an American administration either too disorganized to notice or too naive to grasp the importance.