Economists look forward to Trump's Middle East trip: Many investment agreements expected to be announced.

U.S. President Trump will embark on a Middle East trip on May 13, with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Monica Malik, Chief Economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, said on Friday, "We expect many announcements to be made. I think it will involve a wide range of areas." She pointed out that the 10% tariffs on aluminum and steel imposed by Trump could possibly be lifted, which would be good news for Gulf countries as some of them export these metals to the U.S., despite their small share in the countries' GDP. Malik said, "We also expect a lot of investment agreements to be announced. There has been progress on both sides. We have seen the UAE making multiple investments in the U.S. in areas such as artificial intelligence, energy, and aluminum, but we also believe that U.S. companies have the opportunity to increase their investment in the UAE."