Cuba says no talks yet with U.S., open to dialogue if conditions met
Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío has denied that Havana and Washington have entered formal negotiations, countering recen...
President Donald Trump has completed a four-day tour of the Gulf, announcing more than $2 trillion in investment and defense agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
While many of these deals are still in early stages or represent future plans, the trip highlighted growing economic and security ties between the U.S. and the Gulf region.
In Saudi Arabia, Trump met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and signed a “Strategic Economic Partnership” along with 12 agreements across sectors like energy, technology, and defense. Saudi Arabia pledged up to $600 billion in investment into the U.S., though analysts say this figure may be optimistic. The White House described a $142 billion defense deal as the largest arms sale in history. The visit also included a new AI partnership between U.S. chipmaker Nvidia and Saudi firm Humain to build AI factories over the next five years.
In Qatar, Trump announced deals valued at more than $243 billion, including a $96 billion aviation sale with Boeing and General Electric. Qatar also agreed to a $42 billion defense package involving missile systems, drones, and refueling aircraft. The two countries signed a broader economic agreement valued at $1.2 trillion. At the U.S. military’s Al Udeid Air Base, Trump praised Qatar’s $10 billion plan to upgrade the base. Qatar also pledged $1 billion for quantum technology development in the U.S.
In the UAE, Trump met President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi. The UAE signed new deals worth $200 billion and pledged to invest $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the next decade. They also launched a 5-gigawatt AI campus in Abu Dhabi — the largest outside the U.S. — with participation from companies like Nvidia and xAI.
Though many of these agreements are announcements or pledges rather than finalized contracts, the tour demonstrates strengthened Gulf-U.S. cooperation and underscores Trump’s influence in the region.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday inspected a thermal power plant in Kyiv that was damaged during overnight Russian attacks, as Ukraine accused Moscow of exploiting an energy truce to intensify its military campaign.
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