Bahrain to invest $17bn in US, eyes nuclear partnership

Bahrain’s Crown Prince declared on July 16th plans to invest over $17 billion in the US during talks with President Donald Trump, in which a peaceful nuclear partnership between the countries formed part of the agenda, according to The Arab Weekly plus agencies.

The meeting with the US president, largely focused on trade, Iran, and regional security issues.

Under the agreement, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa was expected to ink a deal worth around $7 billion for its national carrier, Gulf Air, to purchase 12 Boeing aircraft, alongside an option to purchase a further six as well as 40 General Electric engines, a statement released by a White House official said.

“We’re happy to be announcing $17 billion worth of deals that are coming to the United States,” said Al Khalifa. “And this is real. These aren’t fake deals,” he further stated.

“We’ve had a tremendous relationship, I have personally with Bahrain over the years, and it has been a fantastic ally,” according Trump.

The announcement came from the prince during his visit in the Oval office following foreign investment deals that Trump made during his visit to the Middle East in May. While in Riyadh, Trump managed to secure a deal for a $600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia, of which Trump agreed to sell an arms package valued at almost $142 billion.

The Sunni-ruled Bahrain is an important ally to the US, hosting the Fifth Navy fleet of the US. Bahrain established relations in 2020 with Israel under the Abraham Accords, motivated by concerns over Iran.

Currently, Bahrain’s exports face a 10% tariff under Trump’s trade policy, but Bahrain has been spared bigger tariffs on other nations’ exports.

Trump further stated that the US and Bahrain will engage in talks about Iran, as the US and Iran are expected to resume nuclear negotiations, with the end of August being the deadline for an agreement.

But Trump did state on July 15th that there is in “no rush” to reach a nuclear deal with Iran.

According to a statement from a US official, the deal with Bahrain will protect 30,000 jobs and was secured with help from Trump and the US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick. Bahrain is also expected to sign deals with the American companies Oracle and Cisco, aiming to replace Chinese servers, with products of Cisco.

During Prince Salman’s visit, he inked different deals and memoranda of understandings’, confirming these arrangements. Through one of those memos, both countries aim to seek a peaceful nuclear partnership. The memo was signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani of Bahrain.

Rubio stated that the memoranda of understanding signifies that the US is prepared to work with any nation that seeks a civil nuclear programme which is not aligned towards “weaponisation” or threats on regional security. 

Rubio was reportedly referring to Iran – a country which both the US and Israel claim is attempting to develop atomic weapons. Later in 2025, the king of Bahrain will visit the US to finalise the deals.

While diplomatic ties between the US and the Middle East continue to cautiously strengthen, the tech industry is also ramping up its presence in the region. Recently, Microsoft claimed its initiatives in the UAE could potentially strengthen economies in the Middle East.

The Arab Weekly plus agencies, Reuters, Maghrebi.org