From aircraft and tech to energy: How Bahrain’s $17 billion infusion can supercharge the US economy and boost jobs; check details

Bahrain's crown prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalif, will announce his plans to invest more than $17 billion in the United States during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, a White House official said. As part of the investment, Bahrain is likely to finalize a deal with Gulf Air and Boeing/GE worth about $7 billion for 12 planes, with an option to buy six more, the official said. The total number of aircraft comes to 18. The deal also includes the sale of 36 GE engines, the official said.

The Crown Prince announced Trump’s trip to the Middle East in May, where Trump signed several foreign investment deals. Trump, during his Riyadh visit, secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and agreed to sell the Saudis an arms package worth nearly $142 billion.

According to the White House official, the deal with Bahrain will extend support to 30,000 American jobs and was secured with help from the US President and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.


"His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sovereign Wealth Fund of Bahrain(Mumtalakat), along with His Excellency Mr. Howard Lutnick, Minister of Commerce of the United States, witnessed the signing ceremony for an agreement to provide Gulf Air with 18 new B787 aircraft from Boeing Commercial Aircraft Company. Additionally, a memorandum of understanding was established to supply Gulf Air with 36 engines from General Electric Aviation Company. The agreement was signed on the Bahraini side by Mr. Khalid Hussain Taqi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Air Group, and on the American side by Ms. Stephanie Bob, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Aircraft Company," a statement by the National Communication Centre of the Kingdom of Bahrain said.

Bahrain to sign deals in US energy and tech

The official also revealed that Bahrain is expected to sign deals with Oracle and Cisco, with plans to replace Chinese servers with Cisco products. It also seeks to increase its investments in U.S. energy, tech, and manufacturing sectors.

The official said the crown prince has shown his willingness to deploy capital to increase U.S. domestic aluminium production, invest in U.S. LNG production to secure energy supplies, and purchase cutting-edge AI chips, partnering with U.S. hyperscalers.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalif's previous visits

The crown prince visited the White House twice during Trump's first term. During this visit, the crown prince will announce the kingdom's intention to make these investments and sign various deals and memoranda of understanding.

One of these MOUs creates a framework for Bahrain to begin discussions towards developing commercial nuclear capabilities, the official said. It was signed at the State Department by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani before the White House visit.

Later in 2025, the king of Bahrain will visit Washington to finalize these agreements and solidify the progress made in building the two nations' economic prosperity, the U.S. official said.