U.S. President Donald Trump began a meeting with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to a Washington Post pool report, after a surprise U.S. announcement it would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government.

President Donald Trump is to meet with the new Syrian leader, a onetime insurgent, before wrapping up his visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and heading to Qatar, the second leg of his three-nation Middle East tour this week.

Although Trump recently attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, Saudi Arabia was originally intended to be his initial overseas destination, just like in his first term. It served as a gilded debut for a foreign policy focused on securing cash infusions for American businesses.

The wealthy and the powerful gathered in Saudi Arabia with the goal of becoming even more so. “They’re going to walk away with a lot of checks,” President Trump said.

US President Donald Trump has said the US has "no stronger partner" than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip.

In a geopolitical chess game with billions at stake, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Nvidia all have something to gain.

The United States agreed on Tuesday to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to a White House fact sheet that called it "the largest defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done.