Qatar Airways signed an agreement on Wednesday to purchase 160 jets from Boeing, while President Trump and Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani watched the deal become official.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, sitting at a table next to Trump, and Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer, sitting next to the Emir, signed the deal.
Ortberg shook Trump’s hand before sitting down, and the two men briefly spoke at the table.
Trump exchanged brief words with the Emir during the signing and then patted Ortberg on the shoulder. After the deal with signed, the two CEOs shook hands in front of Trump and the Emir.
Trump said the deal was for 160 jets, adding “get those planes out there. Get them out there.”
NewsNation and The Hill first reported on the deal Tuesday.
The deal on Wednesday aligns with the Trump administration’s push for nations like Qatar to invest in U.S. manufacturing while on his Middle East swing.
Trump on Tuesday secured $600 billion in investments from Saudi Arabia, which involve Saudi Arabian company DataVolt moving forward with plans to invest $20 billion in artificial intelligence data centers and energy infrastructure in the U.S. The $600 billion deal included a $142 billion defense and security agreement that equips Saudi Arabia with state-of-the-art war equipment provided by dozens of U.S. firms.
The Qatari government is also planning to gift the U.S. government a luxury Boeing 747 to be used as a new Air Force One, a controversial move that Trump has defended in recent days. Qatari officials told The Hill the plane would not be given to Trump during his trip to the country on Wednesday.
The Qatar purchase continues a run of good news for Boeing, which has seen its stock rise nearly 20 percent on the year.
The U.S.-United Kingdom trade deal announced this month included a $10 billion order for Boeing jets from the parent company of British Airways. Boeing is also hoping for more deals given the pause in the tariff fight between the U.S. and China.
