Is Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East is a contemplation to ‘Interventionism’.

US President Donald J. Trump signed a “path breaking” agreement with Qatar on Wednesday to generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion, highlighting his second stop in a high -profile Middle East tour. During the visit, Trump announced economic deals more than $243.5 billion between the United States and Qatar.

The most significant of these agreements is Qatar Airways purchase of 160 Boeing jets worth $200 billion, signed in Doha in the presence of Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Boeing and GE Aerospace secured a landmark order from Qatar Airways, including a $96 billion agreement to acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines. This represents Boeing’s largest-ever widebody order and largest-ever 787 orders, supporting an estimated 154,000 U.S. jobs annually, amounting to over one million jobs during the production and delivery period.

The agreements transcend aviation into energy, defence, and technology sectors. US giant McDermott continues its strong partnership with Qatar Energy, currently managing seven active projects worth $8.5 billion as the sole provider of offshore components for Qatar’s major LNG expansion. Engineering firm Parsons has secured 30 projects worth up to $97 billion, while Quantinuum has finalised a joint venture agreement with Al Rabban Capital that will see Qatar invest up to $1 billion in quantum technologies.

Significant defence deals were also announced during the visit. Raytheon secured a $1 billion deal for Qatar’s acquisition of counter-drone capabilities, establishing Qatar as the first international customer for Raytheon’s Fixed Site – Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aerial System Integrated Defeat System. General Atomics secured a nearly $2 billion agreement for Qatar’s acquisition of the MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft system. Additionally, the United States and Qatar signed a statement of intent outlining over $38 billion in potential investments, including support for Al Udeid Air Base and future defence capabilities.

Qatar, which holds the world’s third-largest proven reserves of natural gas, has already made substantial investments in American energy infrastructure. Since 2019, Qatar Energy has invested $18 billion in the U.S. energy sector, including ExxonMobil’s Golden Pass LNG Terminal ($10 billion) and Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Golden Triangle Polymers Plant ($8 billion), both located on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The United States maintained a $2 billion trade surplus with Qatar in 2024, continuing a positive trade balance that has existed since 2003. Last year, U.S.- Qatar trade registered $5.64 billion, with $3.8 billion in U.S. exports and $1.8 billion in Qatari imports. Qatar’s greenfield investment in the United States amounted $3.3 billion in 2023, focused on hotels and tourism, information technology, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and oil and gas.

While addressing the media personals, it was revealed that the US President will visit a US installation at the centre of American involvement in the Middle East as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region. Trump plans to address troops at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported the recent US air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

The US President has hailed Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict as he works to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear programme.  

But what has made this trip of the United States President so imperative – is that Trump has also used his trip to announce plans to recognise the government of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and to ease sanctions on the war-torn country. The US has deployed more than 1,000 troops in Syria for years to suppress a return of the Islamic State group. Trump heaped praise on al-Sharaa — who was tied to al-Qaida and joined insurgents battling US forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian civil war — after the two met in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. It was a stark contrast from earlier years, when Al-Sharaa was imprisoned by US troops in Iraq. Until December, there was a USD 10 million US bounty for his arrest.

Trump has expressed his willingness to al-Sharaa that he wanted the new government to take control of prisons in Syria holding Islamic State fighters and their family members, who are currently guarded by US-backed Kurdish fighters.

Team Maverick