Trump to Visit Israel, Vatican and Saudi Arabia in First Overseas Trip as President
Donald Trump is about to embark on his first foreign trip as president this month. He will visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, where he will forge a coalition against religious extremism before attending a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Saudi Arabia will be the first stop of Trump's trip where he will meet with King Salman to discuss efforts to defeat terrorism. Facing religious leaders at the Rose Garden, Trump said his first overseas trip would "begin with a truly historic gathering in Saudi Arabia with leaders all across the Muslim world."
As the custodian of the two holiest sites in Islam, Saudi Arabia is where Trump wants to begin to shape what he called a new foundation of cooperation "with our Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence." He went to say: "Our task is not to dictate to others how to live but to build a coalition of friends and partners who share the goal of fighting terrorism and bringing safety, opportunity and stability to the war-ravaged Middle East."
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On the other hand, the visit to Israel is aimed at further strengthening U.S. relations with that country, a White House statement said. There, Trump will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin to discuss a range of regional issues, including the need to counter the threats posed by Iran and its proxies, the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.
Rome's inclusion in the itinerary came after Trump met privately with Catholic cardinals on Thursday. At a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni earlier, he expressed his interest in going to Rome to meet Pope Francis and connect with Catholics.
Trump will cap his trip later this month by attending the NATO meeting in Brussels before moving to the Group of Seven summit in Sicily. In July, he will have his first face to face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 Summit in Germany.
