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Last week, President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — his first major trip abroad during his second term in the White House. The region has experienced significant changes since Trump’s 2017 visit, during his first term as president — including the current war in Gaza and its regional consequences, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and improved relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. We asked three experts to highlight important or unexpected outcomes from the president’s trip.Read more below.Kerry Boyd Anderson Membership Editor War on the RocksTrump’s visit to Saudi Arabia exhibited warm relations between Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and provided the economic goodies that both leaders want to display, including a large defense sales deal. The biggest surprise was that Trump met with Syria’s president, Ahmed al Sharaa, and said the United States will lift sanctions on Syria. Removing sanctions is a process that will take some time, but it is a huge boon for Syria’s new government and devastated economy. Trump’s meeting with al Sharaa is also a big win for bin Salman, who encouraged and hosted the meeting — demonstrating his influence with Trump and reinforcing his role as a regional power broker.Anna Jacobs Non-Resident Fellow The Arab Gulf States Institute in WashingtonTrump’s visit to Qatar was a mixed bag. On the one hand, he was able to announce huge deals, ranging from arms deals to airplanes to long-term investment packages amounting to over a trillion dollars, according to the White House. The visit certainly went a long way in strengthening the political, economic, and security relationship between the two countries. On the other hand, these historic deals were overshadowed in the United States by controversy surrounding Qatar’s offer to gift a luxury plane to the Trump administration to replace Air