*

Trump touring Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates

*

Major investment expected from Gulf states

*

Trip comes amid global geopolitical tensions

*

Trump is not visiting Israel during the trip

(Adds Musk and Altman at lunch in paragraph 12)

By Gram Slattery and Pesha Magid

RIYADH, May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump

arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the start of a four-day

visit to the wealthy Gulf region, focusing more on economic

deals than regional security matters ranging from war in Gaza to

talks on Iran's nuclear program.

With a who's who of powerful American business leaders in

tow, Trump is visiting Riyadh, site of a Saudi-US Investment

Forum, before going to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab

Emirates on Thursday. He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a

decision that has raised questions about where the close ally

stands in Washington's priorities.

"While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the

investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have

expanded and multiplied many, many times over," Saudi Investment

Minister Khalid al-Falih said as he opened the forum.

"As a result ... when Saudis and Americans join forces very

good things happen, more often than not great things happen when

those joint ventures happen," he said before Trump's arrival.

Trump is hoping to secure trillions of dollars of

investments from the Gulf oil producers. Saudi Arabia had

pledged $600 billion but Trump has said he wants $1 trillion

from the kingdom, one of Washington's most important allies.

The Saudi-US Investment Forum began with a video showing

soaring eagles and falcons and celebrating the long history

between the United States and the kingdom.

At the front of a palatial hall sat Larry Fink, the CEO of

Blackrock ( BLK ), Stephen A. Schwartzman, CEO of Blackstone, Treasury

Secretary Scott Bessent, and Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al

Jadaan and Falih.

Speaking at a forum panel as Trump touched down in Riyadh,

Fink said he had traveled to Saudi Arabia more than 65 times

over 20 years. While the kingdom had been a follower when he

first started visiting, it was now "taking control" and

broadening its economy out of its oil base, he said.

After landing, Trump punched the air when he caught sight of

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS, before

shaking hands with the de facto leader.

MbS has focused on diversifying the kingdom's economy in a

major reform programme dubbed Vision 2030 that includes

"Giga-projects" such as NEOM, a futuristic city the size of

Belgium.

The kingdom has had to scale back some of its lofty

ambitions as rising costs and falling oil prices weigh.

Joining Trump for a lunch with MbS are top U.S. businessmen

including billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief and

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

LONG TIES BASED ON OIL AND SECURITY

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have maintained strong ties

for decades based on an ironclad arrangement in which the

kingdom delivers oil and the superpower provides security.

Trump has also said he may travel on Thursday to Turkey for

potential talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy

on Russia's war in Ukraine. An aide to Zelenskiy said the

Ukrainian president would take part only if Putin does. The

Russian leader has not said if he will attend, and has

questioned Zelenskiy's legitimacy.

Trump's second foreign trip since returning to the

presidency in January - his first was to Rome for Pope Francis'

funeral - comes at a time of geopolitical tension.

In addition to pressing for a settlement in Ukraine, his

administration is pushing for a new aid mechanism for Gaza after

19 months of war and urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu to agree a new ceasefire deal there.

Israeli officials have put a brave face on Trump's decision

to bypass Israel during his trip but there are growing doubts in

Israel about its position in his priorities as frustration

mounts in Washington over the failure to end the Gaza war.

Over the weekend, U.S. and Iranian negotiators met in Oman

to discuss a potential deal to curb Tehran's nuclear program.

Trump has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy

fails.

Iran's Nournews quoted armed forces chief of staff Mohammad

Bagheri as saying on Tuesday that Iran's neighbours should

retain neutrality and that any aggression against Iran would

lead to definitive retaliation.

Trump is expected to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package

worth more than $100 billion, sources told Reuters. This could

include a range of advanced weapons.

Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said last week he

expected progress imminently on expanding the Abraham Accords, a

set of deals brokered by Trump in his first term by which Arab

states including the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco recognised Israel.

But opposition by Netanyahu to a permanent stop to the war

in Gaza or to the creation of a Palestinian state makes progress

on similar talks with Riyadh unlikely, sources told Reuters.