WASHINGTON—President Trump on Tuesday welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman back to the White House for the first time since 2018, kicking off a two-day engagement to announce economic and defense deals.

MBS, as the royal is most commonly known, was greeted by Trump at the South Portico flanked by senior Saudi and U.S. officials. American troops rode horses and carried the flags of both nations before drums rolled and trumpets blared as the crown prince’s limousine rolled up to where Trump awaited with an outstretched hand. They stood to watch a formation of six jet fighters, three F-35s and three F-15s, before going inside to start their meetings.

Trump administration officials say the world leaders will tout a multibillion-dollar investment in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure, cooperate on civil nuclear energy and detail how Riyadh plans to pump around a previously committed $600 billion into the American economy. On Monday, Trump said he intended to sell F-35 jet fighters to Saudi Arabia , providing the kingdom with an advanced weapon that could reshuffle the military balance in the Middle East.

While the looming F-35 sale has garnered attention, the kingdom’s pursuit of advanced U.S. chip technology is a priority for Mohammed bin Salman , Arab and U.S. officials say.

“If there’s a transition away from a fossil fuel dependent economy, he sees it in technology,” said Michael Ratney , who served as the U.S. ambassador in Saudi Arabia from 2023 to 2025. “With cheap energy, big swaths of land, investible capital, they can create these data centers.”

Though U.S. officials haven’t provided details of the prospective F-35 deal, it would be lucrative, too. The average cost of new F-35s, which are made by Lockheed Martin , are about $100 million a plane, including its airframe and engine.

Saudi Arabia already flies U.S. produced warplanes, including F-15Es. But the F-35 features advanced sensors and stealth technology.

Israel was the first country outside of the consortium of nations that were involved in the development of the fighter to buy the F-35. It already has several dozen of the planes and is planning to buy a total of 75 of the jets.

The optics are also a prize for the crown prince. In 2018, the CIA assessed that he orchestrated the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Saudi dissident.

The attribution of fault for the murder made the kingdom’s de facto ruler an international pariah, even though the kingdom denied MBS’s involvement. But the crown prince made his way back onto the world stage through a yearslong mix of diplomacy and economic investments , culminating in a lavish return to the White House.

The visit on Tuesday is due to include a working lunch and later a star-studded dinner. It will be followed on Wednesday by a business-focused conference at the Kennedy Center. U.S. and Saudi flags also line prominent Washington streets, a symbol of how the two countries have resumed their decadeslong partnership.

Trump made the Gulf region the first major international trip of his second term, including a stop in Saudi Arabia during the three-country swing similarly focused on deepening economic ties. In Riyadh, MBS showered Trump with praise and hosted him in opulent halls. By the end, Trump boarded Air Force One with billions in economic investments and a newfound affection for the royal.

Write to Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com and Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com