 "Trump lands in Saudi; Aramco to sign $50 bn of deals with US companies")
US President Donald Trump on Saturday landed in Saudi Arabia, beginning his first international tour which is scheduled to include stops in Israel, the Vatican City, Belgium and Italy.
Trump was received by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, Efe news reported.
Abdulaziz organised a small reception for Trump, who was accompanied by his wife Melania Trump.
The President is scheduled to hold a meeting with Abdulaziz and other Saudi Arabian politicians to close economic deals.
Coinciding with the start of his visit, Riyadh organised a Saudi-American business forum to strengthen investments and bilateral trade.
National oil giant Saudi Aramco expects to sign $50 billion of deals with US companies on Saturday, part of a drive to diversify the kingdom's economy beyond oil exports, Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser said on Saturday.
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Nasser was speaking at a conference of scores of senior US and Saudi business executives, coinciding with the visit of US President Donald Trump to Riyadh.
He said 16 agreements with 11 companies would be signed, including memorandums of understanding for joint ventures. Officials said earlier that many of the agreements would flesh out previously announced plans.
On Sunday, Trump is to participate in a meeting with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as a summit with leaders and representatives from around 50 West Asian and Islamic countries.
Parallel to these meetings, a forum for the fight against terror and extremism is to be held, sponsored by the Saudi-led anti-terror military coalition.
After wrapping up his two-day visit, Trump will travel to Israel, Palestine and the Vatican and then on to Brussels and Sicily where he is to take part in NATO and G7 summits.