| Riyadh Summit 2017 | |
|---|---|
 King Salman, Presidents Trump and el-Sisi inaugurate the Global Center for Combating Extremism by touching an illuminated globe of the Earth. | |
| Host country | Saudi Arabia |
| Date | May 20, 2017 (2017-05-20) – May 21, 2017 (2017-05-21) |
| Motto | Together, We Prevail |
| Cities |  Riyadh,Saudi Arabia |
| Venues | The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh King Abdulaziz International Conference Center |
| Participants | See below |
| Chair | KingSalman of Saudi Arabia |
| Website | riyadhsummit2017 |
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The2017 Riyadh summit (Arabic:قمة الرياض 2017) was a series of three summits held on 20–21 May 2017 on the occasion of the visit of United States presidentDonald Trump toSaudi Arabia, his first trip overseas. The summit included one bilateral meeting, between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and two multilateral meetings, one between the members of theGulf Cooperation Council and the other with Arab and Muslim countries.[1] Leaders and representatives of 54 Arab and Muslim countries, all members of theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United States took part.[2] Iran and Turkey boycotted the summit, and Syria was not invited.
President Trump made his first foreign trip toSaudi Arabia arriving atKing Khalid International Airport on May 20, where he met withKingSalman.[3][4][5] Trump then traveled to theMurabba Palace, where the King awarded him theCollar of Abdulaziz Al Saud.[6] Trump later visited theNational Museum of Saudi Arabia.[7] In the evening, Trump and the U.S. delegation took part in the traditionalardah sword dance.
On May 20, 2017,U.S. PresidentDonald Trump signed a US$350 billion arms deal with theKingdom of Saudi Arabia.[8][9] The arms deal was the largest in world history.[10][8][11] The transaction included tanks, combat ships missile defence systems, as well as radar, communications and cybersecurity technology. The transfer was widely seen as a counterbalance against the influence of Iran in the region.[12][13] The arms transfer was described by news outlets as a "significant" and "historic" expansion of United States relations with Saudi Arabia.[14][15][16][17][18]
Trump met withGCC leaders the morning of May 21.[1]
King Salman and President Trump gave keynote addresses at the Arab Islamic American Summit. Trump called for Muslim leaders to "drive out" terrorism from their countries, and condemned Hamas and the Iranian government for their support of the government ofBashar al-Assad. Also speaking were PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, EmirSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ofKuwait, KingAbdullah II of Jordan, PresidentJoko Widodo ofIndonesia, and Prime MinisterNajib Razak ofMalaysia.
At the close of the summit the leaders inaugurated the new Global Center for Combating Extremism in Riyadh, intended as a centre of excellence for fighting violent extremism which is conducive to terrorism, involving a number of international counter-extremism experts.[19] To officially open the center King Salman, President Trump, and President el-Sisi placed their hands on a glowingorb in the shape of a globe, which was cause for mirth among the international media.[20]
| Summit co-chair |
Morocco: KingMohammed VI was scheduled to attend but cancelled his plans a week prior to the summit for unspecified reasons.[29]
Sudan:PresidentOmar al-Bashir declined to attend after officials at theU.S. Embassy in Riyadh registered their objections to his planned attendance. President al-Bashir is wanted by theInternational Criminal Court for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.[27]Emboldened by Trump's criticism ofIran, many Arab countries decided to take action against their perceived enemies.Bahrain began cracking down on itsShi'ite majority, killing 5 and arresting 286 people. Bahrain also shut down an independent newspaper and outlawed country's last opposition group.[30]
On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Egypt and Bahrain all announced they were cutting diplomatic ties withQatar.[30]Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's PresidentHassan Rouhani, tweeted, "What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance," referring to Trump's conduct at the Summit.[31][32]
An image of King Salman, U.S. President Trump, and Egyptian President el-Sisi touching an illuminated globe (see above) sparked a brief commotion on the Internet, particularly inTwitter. Users dubbed the globe "the Orb" and made reference to various popular culture objects, such as thePalantír fromJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings series and "The Orb of Peace" fromStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[33][34]The Atlantic's James Parker later wrote that "Every presidency has iconic photographs. But there’s nothing else like this one."[35]
Noticing that Americans wanted to have their picture taken with the orb, the Saudi government gave it to the US embassy as a gift. The orb was initially put on display there, but ultimately put into storage.[36]
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday. It is the president's first foreign visit since his inauguration. (May 20)
President Trump arrived here Saturday for his debut on the world stage [...] After Air Force One touched down in Riyadh shortly before 10 a.m. local time [...] Chatting through an interpreter, the two men sat for a cup of coffee inside the ornate V.I.P. reception terminal at King Khalid International Airport. Salman rode with Trump in the president's armored Cadillac for the drive into the city.
The king placed the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud around Trump's neck at a ceremony at the Royal Court in Riyadh.
Sunni Saudi Arabia did not invite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a Shiite, instead inviting the much less powerful Iraqi president Fuad Masum, a Sunni Kurd. The perceived insult was seen to alienate Abadi, a crucial partner in the international fight against ISIS, and as one former U.S. ambassador told ABC News, it betrays an American administration either too disorganized to notice or too naive to grasp the importance.
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