THE 2017 Riyadh summit was a series of three summits held on May 20-21, 2017, on the occasion of the visit of United States President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia, his first trip overseas.

The summit included one bilateral meeting, between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and two multilateral meetings, one between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the other with Arab and Muslim countries.

Leaders and representatives of 55 Arab and Muslim countries were in attendance.

US-GCC Summit

Trump met with GCC leaders on the morning of May 21.

Arab Islamic American Summit

King Salman and President Trump gave keynote addresses at the Arab Islamic American Summit. Trump called for Muslim leaders to “drive out” terrorism from their countries.

Also speaking were President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait, King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, and Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia.

King Salman and US President Donald Trump spoke of cooperation between the Muslim world and the US in order to halt terrorism and extremism in the world at the Arab-Islamic-American summit in Riyadh on Sunday.

“We will cooperate in ending terrorism and extremism in all its shapes and forms,” the King said, “Islam was and will continue to be a religion of tolerance and peace.”

Trump said he was “honored to be received by such gracious hosts, King Salman, continuing King Abdulaziz’s legacy.”

“I bring the message of love from the US — that is why I chose Saudi Arabia for the first foreign trip. US vision is one of peace, security and prosperity in the Middle East region and throughout the world.”

“This special gathering may be the beginning of peace in the Middle East and maybe all over the world. We are not here to lecture. We are here to offer partnership, to pursue a better future for us all.”

“Most of the world has suffered from horrific terrorist attacks, but not more than the Arab world. This isn’t a battle between different faiths, sects, or civilizations... but with barbaric criminals.”

The King announced a historic agreement with the US to track and target sources of terrorist financing.

Trump said that the “Iranian regime is responsible for so much instability in the region,” and that it “funds arms, trains militias that spread destruction and chaos.”

King Salman also spoke of how “the Iranian regime has spearheaded terrorism since Khomenei’s revolution.”

The Arab-Islamic-American Summit kick started in the Saudi capital Riyadh with more than with 50 leaders from the Muslim world participating. King Salman on Sunday tweeted that the upcoming Arab-Islamic-American Summit hosting Trump would cement a global anti-terror alliance.

“I welcome my brethren and friends to the Arab-Islamic-American Summit, which will bring positive horizons for our region and the world, we will cement our alliance against extremism and terrorism,” the king tweeted following a meeting between Trump and Gulf leaders, which aimed at addressing security and defense issues.

King Salman’s speech

King Salman, in his speech, welcomed President Donald Trump of the United States of America to an unprecedented historic summit, which he said is being held at a very important and extremely serious time.

The Monarch expressed Trump’s keenness on enhancing cooperation and coordinating stances in various fields. He added: “The meeting significantly shows that our 55 Arab and Islamic countries attending the summit with a population exceeding 1.5 billion, are an important partner in fighting the forces of extremism and terrorism and achieving world peace, security and stability.”

The King, while appreciating Trump’s acceptance to attend the Riyadh summit, stressed that the Kingdom and the Arab countries shared the same feelings in terms of constructive cooperation to renounce extremism and work on countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, drying-up its sources, stopping all means of financing or disseminating terrorism, and firmly addressing this serious scourge on humanity as a whole.

We are meeting today at this summit to express the seriousness in taking rapid steps to promote a genuine partnership with the friendly United States of America in a way that serves our common interests and contributes to achieving security, peace and development for all mankind, which is confirmed by our Islamic religion.

The King also exhorted Muslims to follow Islam, the religion of peace. “We say to our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of Muslims everywhere that one of the most important purposes of Islamic law is self-preservation and there is no honor in committing crimes. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Islam urged reconstruction of the land and prohibition of destruction and corruption. Islam considered killing an innocent as killing all people. Our way to achieve purposes of our religion and win the paradise is to spread the tolerant values of Islam based on peace, moderation and prevention of destruction and corruption on the ground.” — SG