"My first foreign trip as president of the United States will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, and then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome", Trump said.
Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, who is visiting Washington, attributed to the "merits" and "great efforts" of the Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, that Trump's first global trip as a president is to this Muslim country, said the Foreign Ministry.
The stops will come before Trump attends a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation meeting in Brussels on May 25 and a G7 meeting in Italy on May 26.
"The objective of this meeting is really to bring together all of the different countries and all of the different religions in the fight against intolerance and to defeat radicalism", one senior Administration official said at the White House.
A delegation of some 25 U.S. officials held meetings last week with Israel's foreign ministry as well as the offices of the Prime Minister and President in preparation for the trip.
A source told i24NEWS that some Israeli officials have expressed reservations over the choice of Masada for an address by a US President, but added that the site - an ancient fortress situated atop a 400 meter (1,300 foot) high rock cliff - seems in line with Trump's grandiose style.
During President Barack Obama's tenure, relations with the Gulf States, and Saudi Arabia in particular, were strained over his administration's engagement with Iran.
The official said the trip "demonstrates that the president is willing to and has embraced his leadership role in multinational forums when they serve the interests of the American people and American security", a second official said.
Billionaire Moshiri to spearhead Everton’s Italian job
Indeed, it is only by virtue of Falcinelli’s prowess in the final third that Crotone still remains in contention to survive. In Romelu Lukaku, Koeman has a player with the capability of firing Everton to far headier heights than seventh place.
Trump in the public portion of his meeting with Abbas on Wednesday did not mention a key Israeli demand, that Abbas stop payments to families of terrorists killed or jailed by Israel.
The exact date for Trump's visit to Israel has not been set yet.
But many have been surprised by the president's choice for his first destination - Saudi Arabia, a once strong ally which has taken a more aggressive and independent line towards regional issues in recent years.
The president will finish his visit with what White House officials called a "historic" trip to the Vatican.
Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia first, where he will meet with leaders from the Muslim world.
U.S. officials have confirmed the arms deal between Washington and Riyadh.
"President Trump has said a lot of things that a lot of those leaders agree with", said an aide. Without naming Trump, Francis criticized restrictive immigration policies and said that plans to build a wall on the U.S. -Mexico border were "not Christian".
A person who traveled with Trump during his tenure atop the Trump Organization in the 1990s described a businessman not particularly enthralled with foreign travel: He did not easily adjust to time-zone changes and was regularly jetlagged, the official said.
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