(MENAFN) President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States is elevating Saudi Arabia to major non-NATO ally status, marking a significant expansion in bilateral military relations.

"I'm pleased to announce that we're taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them," Trump declared during a formal White House dinner honoring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"I'm just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight...That's another point you won today, and signing a historic strategic defense agreement, which we just signed a little while ago. So congratulations," he stated to audience applause.

The prestigious designation unlocks substantial defense cooperation advantages for the Kingdom, including eligibility to participate in collaborative research and development initiatives with the Pentagon. The status also provides expedited access to advanced U.S. military hardware, specialized training programs, and favorable financing arrangements.

Saudi Arabia now joins an exclusive group of major non-NATO allies that includes Bahrain, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, Qatar, South Korea, and Tunisia.

While the designation itself doesn't automatically confer security guarantees, the White House indicated earlier that Trump and bin Salman executed a strategic defense pact that "strengthens our more than 80-year defense partnership and fortifies deterrence across the Middle East."

Whether this deterrence framework includes explicit commitments to defend Saudi Arabia against potential aggression remains ambiguous. The White House had not provided clarification on this critical question at the time of publication.

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