According to a recent Bloomberg report, Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify its investment in fossil fuels, and will pump as much as $40 billion into rebuilding and repairing infrastructure in the US.
President Trump is traveling to the kingdom on May 19, and according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters, an estimated $40 billion from Riyadh's sovereign wealth fund will be made available to the US as an investment into rebuilding highways and bridges in the country that are falling apart.
In the wake of the previous US administration's participation in the historic nuclear deal with Iran, Saudi Arabia is now seen to be attempting to restart positive relations with Washington.
Riyadh claimed a "historic turning point" in diplomatic relations between the two countries after Trump met with the kingdom's deputy crown prince at the White House several months ago, according to Bloomberg.
Next week, Trump will travel outside of the US for the first time since his inauguration, visiting Riyadh and Jerusalem, before heading north to Europe.
Representatives from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and its Ministry of Finance have not publicly commented on the story.
Trump campaigned on a pledge to infuse an estimated $1 trillion into US infrastructure projects, including highways, rail networks, bridges, mass transport systems, and seaports. The White House has asserted that over the next four years it will create a US-Saudi program valued at over $200 billion to rebuild or repair assets in the energy, industry, infrastructure and technology spheres.
Following a global slump in oil prices, Saudi Arabia has actively sought to diversify its investments, primarily deploying enormous cash infusions into the technology sector, including a $3.5 billion June 2016 play into rideshare company Uber.
