DUBAI, May 12 (Reuters) - Donald Trump visits Saudi

Arabia this week, 80 years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt

laid the foundations of longstanding Saudi-U.S. relations based

on an ironclad arrangement - the kingdom pumps oil, and the

superpower provides security.

Here is a timeline of U.S. presidential visits to Saudi

Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter and one of Washington's

most important allies.

Roosevelt - 1945:

Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdulaziz Al Saud, held

landmark talks with Roosevelt aboard the American warship USS

Quincy docked in the Suez Canal, the first meeting between a

U.S. president and a Saudi monarch.

During the meeting Roosevelt gifted the king, who had

problems walking, a wheelchair. "I shall use it daily and always

recall affectionately the giver, my great and good friend," the

king said, according to a U.S. government archive website.

The king told Roosevelt that "the Arabs would choose to die

rather than yield their lands to the Jews", according to the

website, a burning topic until this day.

Richard Nixon - 1974:

The first visit by a U.S. president to the kingdom took

place in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, 29 years after Roosevelt

and King Abdulaziz's meeting. Nixon's visit aimed to repair

strained relations after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

The conflict rattled U.S. policymakers after King Faisal

imposed an oil supply embargo against the U.S. and other

countries for their support of Israel, shocking economies.

"We need wisdom," Nixon said in his toast during a state

dinner hosted by the king, according to the Richard Nixon

Foundation.

Jimmy Carter - 1978:

The main point of discussion between Carter and King Khalid

in Riyadh was the Arab desire to establish a Palestinian state.

Carter sought to reach a common understanding for a

transitional period to reach that goal. The efforts did not

change the de facto situation on the ground, with Israel still

occupying land Palestinians want for a future state.

George H.W. Bush - 1990 and 1992:

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 brought the U.S. and Saudi

Arabia closer, with the kingdom approving the highly sensitive

deployment of U.S. troops on its land, the birthplace of Islam.

Saudi Arabia had approved the deployment to deter a possible

expansion of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's military campaign

against the kingdom.

Bush visited American troops stationed in the eastern Saudi

city of Dhahran.

He met with King Fahd for a second time in 1992 in the

aftermath of the war and discussed the stability of the Gulf.

Bill Clinton - 1994:

King Fahd received President Clinton in the King Khalid

Military City as the oil-rich region was still on alert for any

new moves by Saddam, even after his forces were routed and

forced to leave Kuwait.

The two discussed Iraq, but Clinton's bid to boost the U.S.

aircraft industry was at the top of the agenda. A year later,

Saudi Arabia signed a $6 billion jet deal with Boeing ( BA ) and

McDonnell.

George W. Bush - 2008:

During Bush's first visit to Riyadh, he signed an agreement

with King Abdullah in connection with the kingdom's civilian

nuclear energy program.

The two agreed they would support efforts to prevent the

spread of nuclear weapons, five years after the U.S. invaded

Iraq under Bush.

Iran's growing regional influence prompted a second visit

the same year to rally Arab support to contain Tehran.

Barack Obama - 2009, 2014, 2015, and 2016:

President Obama met twice with King Abdullah and twice with

King Salman in a total of four visits to the kingdom during his

two terms.

Relations between his Democratic administration and the

kingdom were cold under King Salman, with the Gulf country

raising concerns that Washington's commitment to its security

was diminishing.

The kingdom's frustration peaked after Obama brokered a 2015

pact between its arch foe Iran and six global powers to curb

Tehran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.

Gulf Arab states deemed Iran's nuclear programme a threat, while

Tehran said it was only for peaceful purposes.

Donald Trump - 2017:

Unlike his predecessor, President Trump received a hero's

welcome during his first-term visit to Riyadh. He danced with

swords in traditional Saudi ceremonies and sealed a $110 billion

arms deal.

The image of him placing his hands on a glowing orb with

King Salman to formally open a new centre to combat extremism

went viral on the internet.

Trump defended his administration's ties to Saudi Arabia a

year later, despite the killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist

Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in the kingdom's consulate in

Turkey causing a global uproar.

Joe Biden - 2022:

President Biden was not received as warmly after his

campaign pledge to make the kingdom "a pariah" and his promises

to take a tougher stance on its human rights record,

particularly regarding Khashoggi's killing.

The tensions manifested in an awkward fist bump between

Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS,

during the visit instead of a formal handshake.

That scene, including a wordless exchange, was a defining

image of a sensitive trip that failed to yield much for the U.S.