The Donald makes more headlines than most: Dozens of world leaders and business executives began their descent on the Saudi capital over the weekend to attend the Arab-Islamic-American Summit set to kick-off today, but none were in the spotlight in the same way as US President Donald Trump, whosevisit was hailed as the “beginning of a new era” in Saudi-US relations.

Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a series of agreements on Saturday, including a USD 110 bn arms agreement, according to an official statement from the White House “This package of defense equipment and services supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of malign Iranian influence and Iranian related threats.” The agreement also extends an additional USD 350 bn in arms to KSA over the next decade, according to the Independent. The New York Times does an excellent job here breaking down the agreement.

King Salman and the US President also signed a “joint strategic vision statement” that promises “close collaboration to counter violent extremism, disrupt the financing of terrorism, and advance defense cooperation,” according to the White House. Trump also talked counterterrorism with Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef at Al Yamamah palace on Saturday, according to the Saudi news agency (watch The Donald join the traditional welcome dance performed in his honor, runtime 1:58). The leaders were also both present as Saudi and US business executives inked agreements north of USD 280 bn.

Big Business at the trough: US companies signed USD 50 bn in agreements with Saudi Aramco, while GE closed contracts worth USD 15 bn in fields including power, healthcare, oil and gas, and mining.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrived in Riyadh on Saturday, where he first talked cooperation with the presidents of Burkina Faso and Tajikistan, Ahram Online reported. El Sisi will be giving a speech today about Egypt’s counterterrorism strategy and is expected to hold one-on-ones with several of the leaders in attendance.

The Wall Street Journal’s Yaroslav Trofimov has a long look at how Cairo and Riyadh patched up their differences this spring ahead of the gathering. The lede is priceless: “In private, Egyptian officials like to complain about arrogant and uncouth Saudis. In Riyadh, there is just as much eye-rolling about the supposedly unreliable and incompetent Egyptians. Periodically, this tension erupts into open spats. Yet these quarrels only go so far: no matter the mutual frustration, the Arab world’s most populous country and its economic powerhouse simply can’t afford not to get along with each other.” Still up in the air: The fate of Smurf Islands (as we prefer to think of Tiran and Sanafir) and “Saudi requests for a greater Egyptian role in the Yemen war.”

Investment Minister Sahar Nasr was also in Riyadh this weekend for the Islamic Development Bank’s (IDB) 42nd annual meeting. Nasr and IDB President Bandar Hajjar discussed the bank developing a new cooperation strategy to provide Egypt with USD 3 bn in financing over the coming three years, according to a ministry statement. Nasr also signed an MoU with the Islamic Corporation forthe Development of the Private Sector (ICD-PS) to provide an undisclosed amount of funding for infrastructure investments in Egypt, the ministry said (pdf), in addition to a USD 10 mn funding agreement with Islamic Development Bank Chairman Bandar Hajjar to combat avian influenza. Nasr also met Saudi Arabia’s Economy and Planning Minister, Adel Mohamed Fakieh, to discuss economic cooperation, Al Mal reports.