Trump designates Saudi Arabia as major non-NATO ally amid Saudi crown prince visit to Washington | World News
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a dinner in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo)
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that America will designate Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally as the Trump adminration aims to elevate the military relationship between US and Saudi Arabia. The announcement of the decision the Republican president came as he hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a black-tie dinner at the White House.
.@POTUS: “Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we are taking our military cooperation to even greater heights formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally.” pic.twitter.com/9n4HzMmuMG— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 19, 2025
The decision to designate Saudi Arabia as a non-NATO ally remains largely symbolic but it certainly provides foreign partners with some benefits in key sectors of defence and security cooperation, AP reported. Trump had earlier said that Saudi Arabia would purchase fifth-generation aircraft, F-35 stealth fighter jets under a US security package.
During the dinner at the White House, Trump said, “I’m pleased to announce that we’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them.”
(with inputs from AP)
