A video of US President Donald Trump and other White House officials participating in a ceremonial sword dance in Riyadh outside the Murabba Palace, hours after he sealed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia on Saturday, has gone viral.
The video of Trump and other White House officials participating in a ceremonial sword dance in Riyadh outside the Murabba Palace has gone viral.
A video of US President Donald Trump and other White House officials participating in a ceremonial sword dance in Riyadh outside the Murabba Palace, hours after he sealed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia on Saturday, has gone viral.
The video of the dance from Host TV shows secretary of state Rex Tillerson and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross dancing with swords perched on their shoulders as part of a line of men in traditional Saudi garb. The dance is known as the ardah, according to the Saudi Embassy in the United States.
Accompanied by First Lady Melania, Trump arrived in Riyadh on Saturday on a two-day trip. Trump is the first US president to make a Muslim-majority country his first overseas visit as president. The nine-day trip will also include Israel, the Vatican City, Belgium and Italy, where he is to take part in NATO and G7 summits.
This was, however, not the first time a world leader participated in the ardah. Britain's Prince Charles in 2014 and former US president George W Bush in 2008 too shook their legs in the traditional dance.
The performance combines dance, drumming and chanting poetry, and it signifies the start of notable occasions like religious holidays or weddings, according to IANS.
On Saturday, Trump and King Salman signed a series of agreements aimed at boosting their countries’ military and economic partnerships, including an arms deal worth $350 billion over 10 years, with a payment of almost $110 billion to be made immediately.