What Is Jared Kushner’s Latest Venture in the Middle East?

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Despite almost a year away from politics after his father-in-law left the White House, Jared Kushner is once again under the spotlight for his ties with Saudi Arabia.

A recent report by the New York Times has highlighted Jared Kushner’s latest attempts to forge new trade opportunities with Saudi Arabia, only this time it is related to his personal business venture.

According to the Times, Jared Kushner has been raising funds for his own firm for the past several months, including calls with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which can possibly provide Kushner with major financial support, thanks to the favorable treatment the Saudi Crown Prince received from the White House between 2017 and 2021.

Online reports have noted that investments between Saudi Arabia and Jared Kushner will facilitate the latter’s return to the Middle East after months of leaving the Trump White House, in which he served as a senior advisor to the president, focusing mostly on the Middle East and crafting normalization deals between several Arab states and Israel.

“The kingdom’s $450 billion Public Investment Fund is negotiating with Mr. Kushner over what could prove to be a sizable investment in his new firm, two of those people said.” – New York Times

Moreover, the report noted that Kushner’s business teams have already contacted the Emiratis and the Qataris for the same purpose, but that the Saudi expressed the greatest interest so far.

Experts have also weighed on the exceptionally strong relationship between Jared Kushner and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, particularly as Kushner played a major role in helping MBS’s global image amid the Jamal Khashoggi death incident in 2018.

However, questions are on the rise over the ethics in using ties that were diplomatic in the first place to help out with personal business ambitions.

Such question marks can only be greater if Donald Trump decides to run for the 2024 presidential elections, which could, once again, mix the political with personal business gains by the Trump family.