Donald Trump has continued his tour of the Middle East with a stop in Qatar, marking the first time a United States president has made an official state visit to the Gulf country.
But just before he boarded Air Force One to fly into the Qatari capital of Doha, Trump made history in another way: He took his first-ever meeting with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Wednesday marked the halfway point in Trump’s four-day trip, which included an opening stop in Saudi Arabia and will conclude in the United Arab Emirates.
And as with his other stops, Trump underscored warming relations and expanding business ties with leaders from Syria and Qatar — though, back home in the US, the Democratic Party raised concerns about how the Republican leader’s personal interests might be guiding his closed-door conversations.
Here are the key takeaways from Wednesday’s meetings and stops.
A high-profile meeting in Saudi Arabia
Before setting off for Qatar, Trump took one of the most highly anticipated meetings of his entire trip: a sit-down with Syrian President al-Sharaa.
It was the first time in nearly a quarter century that the top leaders from Syria and the US met face to face. And the meeting was extraordinary for a number of reasons: Until December, the US had offered a $10m reward for al-Sharaa’s capture.
It continues to list Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the armed group al-Sharaa led during Syria’s civil war, as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, due to its past ties with al-Qaeda.
But since a coalition led by HTS toppled the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, the US has been reevaluating its relationship with the group and its leadership.
The toppling of al-Assad’s government brought an end to Syria’s 13-year-long civil war, and al-Assad — long accused of human rights abuses — fled to Russia.
In the lead-up to Wednesday’s meeting with al-Sharaa, Trump announced that he would lift the sanctions against Syria put in place during al-Assad’s leadership, a development that al-Sharaa’s government praised as an economic boon and a step towards stability.
On Wednesday, al-Sharaa joined Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for an in-person meeting, while Turkiye’s President Recep Erdogan joined by phone.
Trump “told President Al-Sharaa that he has a tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country”, according to a read-out from the White House. He also encouraged Syria to expel “foreign terrorists” and “Palestinian terrorists” from its borders, as well as normalise relations with Israel.
The read-out added that al-Sharaa said he shared the US’s interests in “countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons”. He also encouraged the US to invest in Syria’s petroleum sector.
Later, as he boarded Air Force One for Qatar, reporters asked Trump to share his first impressions of al-Sharaa.
“Great. I think very good. Young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter. He’s got a real shot at pulling it together,” Trump replied.
A red-carpet arrival in Qatar
Pomp and circumstance have greeted Trump throughout his Middle East trip so far, and his arrival in Qatar was no exception.
Even before Air Force One touched down in the Qatari capital of Doha, the pageantry of the visit — Trump’s first international tour of his second term — was on full display.
As he entered Qatar’s airspace, White House Communications Adviser Margo Martin posted video online of F-15 fighter jets on either side of Air Force One, “providing honorary escort” to the president.
A red carpet greeted Trump as he touched down in Qatar. The country’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was on hand to welcome him. And a ceremonial guard, riding atop white horses and camels, trotted alongside his motorcade as he was transported to the site of his state visit.
“We’re extremely honoured to have you here. We’re very excited, very happy. It’s a historic visit,” Al Thani said. “I don’t know if you know that you’re the first American president to officially visit Qatar. So we’re very honoured.”
Al Jazeera’s White House correspondent Kimberly Halkett, who has been following the US president’s journey, said the opulence of Trump’s tour so far has been a selling point to his domestic audiences.
“ Americans loved the pomp and pageantry. They found it interesting to see the state dinner with the camels and to see some of the tea and coffee ceremonies,” Halkett said.
Even Trump marvelled at the decor inside the Amiri Diwan, the government centre of Qatar, calling the marble “perfect-o”.
A deal to boost trade and defence
Trump’s White House has described the president as the “dealmaker in chief”, and each stop so far on his four-day tour has culminated in the announcement of a major business deal with the US.
Wednesday’s visit to Qatar was no exception.
The White House announced that the US and Qatar had inked deals worth at least $1.2 trillion, including a major transaction which would see Qatar Airways buy 210 aircraft from the US company Boeing.
That deal alone was worth $96bn, according to a government fact sheet. Still, that was an adjustment downward from a higher figure Trump mentioned during the trip, $200bn.
“It’s the largest order of jets in the history of Boeing. That’s pretty good,” Trump said as he signed documents alongside Emir Al Thani.
In a gesture to his fellow leader, Trump added: “ We’ve been friends for a long time, long before politics.”
Other parts of the deal included purchases of drone and anti-drone technology from US defence companies like Raytheon and investments in the US energy sector.
“I think, after signing these documents, we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States,” Al Thani said, thanking Trump.
Democrats criticise conflicts of interest
But back in the US, Trump’s stop in Qatar continued to raise eyebrows among his critics, particularly in the Democratic Party.
The weekend before his trip, Trump faced controversy over reports that his Department of Defence would accept a luxury Boeing jet worth $400m from Qatar, dubbed a “palace in the sky”.
Such a gift would have been one of the largest in the history of the presidency. And critics warned it raised ethical and legal concerns, given the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the federal government from accepting gifts from foreign governments without prior approval from Congress.
Still, Trump defended the idea on social media. He called the plane a “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE” that was made “in a very public and transparent transaction”.
He also walked back media reports that he would use the aircraft as personal transport after leaving office. Sources indicated the plane was likely to be decommissioned after Trump left office and sent to his presidential library.
Ultimately, in Wednesday’s meeting with Emir Al Thani, the jet was not mentioned. It is unclear whether the exchange will continue.
The Democratic National Committee nevertheless announced it planned to fly a banner over Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to coincide with his Qatar visit, emblazoned with the phrase “Qatar-a-Lago”.
Journalists on Air Force One pressed the president about another potential conflict of interest.
One reporter asked Trump about a deal that would see an investment firm in the United Arab Emirates — the next stop on his tour — buy large sums of cryptocurrency from a company run by his family. The deal is reportedly worth $2bn.
“I really don’t know anything about it,” Trump replied. “But I’m a big crypto fan. I will tell you, I’ve been that from the beginning, right from the campaign. I’m a believer in crypto.”
Trump is scheduled to travel to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, before returning to the US on Friday.
