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Who sold more deadly arms to Saudi Arabia? Theresa May or Donald Trump?

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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

United States President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

A critic of the country on the campaign trail, Trump said of the first day of his visit to Riyadh:

That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States.

Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.

The deal commits Saudi Arabia to buying arms from the US and to hiring American companies to build equipment in their territory. According to the State Department the deal includes tanks, helicopters, ships, intelligence-gathering aircraft and a missile-defence radar system, alongside cybersecurity tools.

The deal also includes another $350 billion worth of sales over the next decade.

A statement from a White House official said:

This package demonstrates, in the clearest terms possible, the United States’ commitment to our partnership with Saudi Arabia and our Gulf partners, while also expanding opportunities for American companies in the region, and supporting tens of thousands of new jobs in the US defence industrial base.

Lockheed Martin President Marillyn Hewson praised the deal, unsurprisingly, saying:

We are especially proud of how our broad portfolio of advanced global security products and technologies will enhance national security in Saudi Arabia, strengthen the cause of peace in the region, and provide the foundation for job creation and economic prosperity in the U.S. and in the Kingdom.

The deal makes UK arms dealings in the region appear miniscule.

Theresa May's government has sold just over £3.3 bn military arms and goods to Saudi Arabia since April 2015, according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade.

From 2011 to 2016, Saudi Arabia was the primary buyer of UK arms.

More: The countries the UK exports most arms to, in one map

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