Trump's First Foreign Trip Schedule: Saudi Arabia, Israel, Vatican, Belgium, Italy

President Donald Trump will depart for his first official foreign trip to the Middle East and Europe, Friday. Trump will be accompanied by first lady Melania Trump throughout his trip. The first stop will be Saudi Arabia, followed by Israel, Rome, Brussels, and finally Italy, reports said.

Trump's nine-day trip to these countries, comes as a surprise to many since during his presidential campaign last year, he repeatedly said he would withdraw the U.S. from getting involved with the wider world.

However, General H.R. McMaster, his national security adviser, who has prepared the ground for the trip, said: "America First didn't mean 'America alone' ever. America First didn't mean America not leading. For America to secure advances that requires American leadership...There was a perception that America had disengaged from the Middle East. Now there's a broad recognition among all our allies in the region that American leadership is necessary," Telegraph reported.

Read: Trump To Address Muslim Leaders In Saudi Arabia

Moreover, the choice of countries is also unlike his predecessors, who mostly restricted their first foreign visits to Canada or Mexico, CNN reported.

Trump, who will visit Saudi Arabia first, had criticized the country during his presidential campaign last year. According to National Public Radio, Trump had said last year: "Until the oil went down, Saudi Arabia was making a billion dollars a day. We protect them. We protect them. And we protect them for peanuts. So all of that stuff is going to change folks."

However, the president is reportedly foregoing his incendiary campaign views regarding the country to adopt a more traditional diplomacy.

Trump is set to meet various heads of states during his trip to Saudi Arabia. He is scheduled to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud and attend an Arab-Islamic-American Summit, with several other dignitaries.

Leaders from Jordan, Algeria, Niger, Yemen, Morocco, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Tunisia will all be present at the summit. Trump will also meet the monarchs of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, according to various reports.

From Saudi Arabia, Trump will head to Israel where he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. This meeting will be Trump's effort to bring about a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, reports said.

Next, the president will visit Rome to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican. The two differ on almost every major issue, from whether man-made climate change exists to advantages of capitalism; rights of refugees and growing inequality in the world.

According to Telegraph, a White House official said the two leaders are likely to discuss how “to bring together all the different religions in the fight against intolerance.”

From Rome, Trump will go to Brussels, Belgium to attend a NATO meeting. This meeting will be integral part of Trump's trip as just last month, he declared that NATO was "no longer obsolete," contradicting what he repeatedly said during his campaign days.

Lastly, Trump will visit Italy to attend the G7 summit, which is set to take place in the resort town of Taormina in Sicily on May 26-27.