Analysis
Saudi Arabia to pursue two-track approach for Trump presidency
Riyadh is likely to compartmentalize business dealings with incoming President Donald Trump separately from its foreign policy engagements, where there is likely to be disagreement.
DUBAI — On Nov. 16, US President-elect Donald Trump attended UFC 309, a mixed martial arts event featuring American fighters Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Next to Trump in the front row was SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, while to his right was a man the US media struggled at first to identify.
It was Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund, who sat in a group that included Trump's cabinet picks Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Junior as well as other supporters.
The day before the match, Trump was seen playing golf with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. Rumayyan, who heads a $930 billion investment fund supported by Saudi oil wealth, is an avid golfer himself.
