NEW: Bahrain Announces $17 Billion In U.S. Investments

Bahrain Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa announced that Bahraini companies will be investing an additional $17 billion in the United States during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House Wednesday.

Trump and the crown prince met with reporters in the Oval Office before a private meeting where Trump said a number of topics would be discussed, including the recent conflict with Iran and trade. “It is indeed a great honor to be here on this fine morning to put into action the relationship that exists between our two countries. We will be discussing security issues, we’ll be discussing trade and investment, which is very important,” the president told reporters.

“We’ve had a tremendous relationship — I have personally with Bahrain over the years, and it has been a fantastic ally. And anything they needed, we helped them, and anything we needed, they helped us,” Trump said.

The crown prince stressed that the feeling is mutual before announcing the new investments. “We’re very happy to be announcing $17 billion worth of deals that are coming to the United States. And this is real… These aren’t fake deals. These are real deals,” he said.

“It only builds upon a legacy that we’re very proud of,” Al Khalifa said. “We have had a relationship in the civil side between our two countries since 1893 and formally since 1948, so may it long continue, and we look forward to many, many more years of productive partnership,” he added.

The latest announcement comes a little over two months since President Trump returned from his historic Middle East trip, where he was able to secure more than $1 trillion in U.S. investments from the gulf states.

Among the deals was a $200 billion agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which includes a $14.5 billion commitment from Ethiad Airways to invest in 28 American-manufactured aircraft from Boeing and GE Aerospace. Emirates Global Aluminum is also investing $4 billion to develop a primary aluminum smelter project in Oklahoma, while Holtec International and IHC Industrial Holding Company committed to building a fleet of small modular reactors in Michigan.

The neighboring gulf nation of Qatar has also pledged to make $1.2 trillion in U.S. investments over the next decade.

Within the agreement are stipulations that Qatar Airways, the Middle East’s premier airline travel service, will purchase $96 billion worth of 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X airplanes with GE Aerospace engines. A statement of intent signals that another $38 billion in U.S.-made defense goods may be purchased to fortify Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base and fill other maritime security needs.

“This historic agreement will support 154,000 U.S. jobs annually, totaling over 1 million jobs in the United States during the course of production and delivery of this deal,” a White House overview of the deal states.