Attendees of the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum included scores of the world's most powerful CEOs, among them Elon Musk, Jensen Huang and Larry Fink.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Riyadh was seeking to “de-escalate” the situation in the Middle East and “end the war in Gaza.”

President Donald Trump is to meet with the new Syrian leader, a onetime insurgent, before wrapping up his visit to Saudi Arabia.

BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Northern Trust Asset Management, Neuberger Berman and I Squared Capital signed preliminary agreements with the roughly $925 billion wealth fund to invest in its efforts to develop a series of new investment strategies focused on Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.

A royal welcome found President Donald Trump receiving purple carpet treatment and special escorts upon his arrival in the Middle East with a bevy of business leaders. […]

Saudi Arabia will look to make good on its $1 trillion US investment pledge through a sovereign wealth fund, which has developed close ties to law firms that recently entered into settlements with President Donald Trump.

A British Bank of America analyst has been jailed for 10 years in Saudi Arabia apparently over a since-deleted social media post.

The United States agreed on Tuesday to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to a White House fact sheet that called it "the largest defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done.