President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud touted new agreements at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum Wednesday.

The appearance concluded the crown prince’s visit to the United States in which the leaders advanced investments and defense pledges, amid President Trump’s efforts to boost the economy and broker peace in the Middle East.

Trump announced he was designating Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO U.S. ally, that the two inked a strategic defense agreement, and future sales of F-35s and American tanks.

“What it means, it’s a gesture from this administration and if the successor relationship is republican they might honor it as well, but it has no ultimate long term meaning other than as a gesture of goodwill from the United States,” a former defense official said of the defense agreement, when granted anonymity to speak about the countries' relationship.

It comes as the administration looks to advance Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, which calls for an international stabilization force, board of peace to oversee governance and de-arming of Hamas, and as the President looks for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords in normalizing relations with Israel.

"A stronger and more capable alliance will advance the interests of both countries and it will serve the highest interest of peace, and we all share in peace, and we've never had and been so close to truly everlasting peace in the Middle East. All my life I've heard, 'oh, peace in the Middle East, but it'll never happen.' We did it. Now we have to make sure it matures properly and is really as strong as we think it can be. But we've gotten all good signals,” Trump said.

Bin Salman said they are in discussion about the kingdom’s financial contribution for Gaza reconstruction but did not offer an amount. While he expressed interest in supporting the accords he also suggested it was contingent on a two state solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated this week opposition to a Palestinian state.

“I think we need their support in two dimensions. You need their moral support and agreement to come into the ISF even if they don’t put troops on the ground, and I don’t think they will. But you need their money. Money is what you need from Saudi and UAE. You need tacit support and you need money,” said the former defense official.

The former official noted the sale of F-35s, and designations of the defense relationships are significant deals.

The sale of F-35s, which has typically raised concerns over potential Chinese access to sensitive technologies, also requires congressional approval. The U.S. “remains committed to helping maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge” according to a White House official, who noted the administration will ensure the sale is consistent with statutory requirements.

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The crown prince also announced Saudi Arabia would increase its investment pledge in the United States from $600 billion committed during Trump’s visit to the Kingdom in May, to $1 trillion, near the total of the country’s GDP.

“I think that it’s an interesting commitment from Saudi Arabia that’s not all going to come at once,” said Gregory Gause III, a visiting scholar with the Middle East Institute, noting the timeline on the investment is not known.

The White House announced a framework for cooperation on critical minerals, a statement to complete negotiations on civil nuclear energy cooperation and a memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence.

“This will contribute to strengthening opportunities, creating numerous job opportunities in our two countries, and driving economic growth in both,” bin Salman said.

Saudi AI company HUMAIN announced plans for Nvidia-powered data centers in Saudi Arabia, an agreement with xAI to jointly develop data centers in the kingdom and expanded work with AWS.

Trump, who touted his administration’s economic agenda amid the White House’s focus on affordability, defended support for H1B visas for technology workers.

“Now, my, I love my conservative friends, I love MAGA, but this is MAGA. And those people are going to teach our people how to make computer chips, and in a short period of time, our people are gonna be doing great, and those people can go home where they probably always want to be,” Trump said during remarks Wednesday.

However, Gause contended those agreements do not signify major changes.

“None of these agreements perhaps except on the AI front represent a major change in the U.S.-Saudi relationship. We’ve always had a military supply relationship. We’ve always had a security relationship. We’ve always had a diplomatic relationship regarding Arab Israeli questions and other questions in the Middle East. But the fact that all of these things are being agreed upon together is I think an indication of the reconfirmation of the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship for both of the sides,” Gause said.

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Neither leader mentioned Jamal Khashoggi during their Wednesday remarks, after Trump criticized questions to both leaders over the journalist's murder and bin Salman defended the kingdom’s handling of it.

“As far as this gentleman is concerned, he's done a phenomenal job. You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happened, but he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Trump said Tuesday when a reporter asked why Americans should trust the crown prince after 9/11 and the murder of a journalist.

“It’s really painful to hear you know anyone that has been losing his life for you know no real purpose or no nothing in a legal way. And it's been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We've did all the right steps of investigation et cetera in Saudi Arabia and we've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that and it's painful and it's a huge mistake," the crown prince said. "We are doing our best that this doesn't happen again."

The U.S. intelligence community previously concluded that bin Salman ordered the operation that led to Khashoggi’s murder, though the crown prince has denied involvement.

Shortly after the leaders’ remarks on Tuesday, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, Jama’s widow, told Scripps News in an interview she thought President Trump had been “misinformed” about her late husband, offering to meet with the president and discuss his legacy.

“Even if he heard he’s not loved by everybody, which is normal,” Elatr Khashoggi said, "it does not justify [someone] to kidnap him, torture him, and kill him and dismiss his body."

The White House did not respond to an inquiry about Elatr Khashoggi’s comments or offer.

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President Trump’s embrace of Saudi Arabia, placing his first foreign leaders call and making his first foreign visit to the kingdom during his second term, marks a difference from former President Biden’s handling of relations.

Biden previously called Bin Salman a “pariah” during campaigning, before eventually meeting with bin Salman during his term.

“I think President Biden’s reaction to Saudi Arabia was short sighted and miserably ineffective from a global strategic point of view. Saudi Arabia is going to be around this guy’s going to be around for forty years. Do we really want to make him into an outcast for the next 40 years?” said the former defense official.

The crown prince’s visit marked his first to the White House since 2018.