The United States is close to completing a series of arms deals for Saudi Arabia totaling more than $100 billion, a senior White House official said on Friday, a week ahead of President Donald Trump's planned visit to Riyadh. The package is being developed to coincide with Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia. Reuters reported last week that Washington was pushing through contracts for tens of billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, some new, others already in the pipeline, ahead of Trump's visit. The package includes American arms and maintenance, ships, air missile defense and maritime security, the official said. Besides Saudi Arabia, Trump's first foreign trip will also include visits to Israel, the Vatican, Brussels for a NATO summit and Sicily for a Group of Seven summit.

Source: Egypt Independent May 12, 2017 23:37 UTC