Although a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Saudi Arabia is described as leading the "Pro-Western Camp" of Arab countries, aligned with the U.S. and composed of Egypt, Jordan, and Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia and the United States are close strategic allies and partners. However, the relationship witnessed certain decline during the last years of the Obama administration, but strengthened following the election of President Donald Trump who forged close ties with the Saudi royal family.[5][6][7][8] Sunni Islam is the main religion of Saudi.[9][10]China and Saudi Arabia are major allies, with the relationship between the two countries growing significantly in recent decades.[11] A majority of Saudi Arabians have expressed a favorable view of China.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
As a founding member of OPEC, Saudi Arabia's long-term oil pricing policy has been to keep prices stable and moderate—high enough to earn large amounts of revenue, but not so high as to encourage alternative energy sources among oil importers, or jeopardise the economies of Western countries where many of its financial assets are located and which provide political and military support for the Saudi government.[10] The major exception to this occurred during the 1973 oil crisis when Saudi Arabia, with the other Arab oil states, used an embargo on oil supplies to pressure the US to stop supporting Israel.[18]
After World War II (1939–1945) and during the Cold War (c.1947–1991), Saudi Arabia maintained an anti-Communist, anti-secular Arab-nationalist policy, often working with the leading anti-communist power, the United States. Following the 1973 oil crisis, when Saudi Arabia and other Arab oil exporters embargoed the United States and its allies for their support of Israel, oil revenues increased dramatically, and the Kingdom worked to become the leading Islamic state, spending generously to advance Islam and particularly its conservative school (known as Wahhabism). Supporters see this as having purified and unified the Islamic faith; other commentators claim it has eroded regional Islamic cultures. (Examples of the acculturizing effect of Saudi aid can be seen among the Minangkabau and the Acehnese in Indonesia, as well as among the people of the Maldives.[20][21][22][23] The Wahhabi form of Islam is also perceived in the West as a source of Islamist extremism.[24][25]
Saudi Arabia and its oil policy were significant factors in the proxy wars of the Cold War prior to the downfall of Soviet Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Saudi Arabia helped to finance not just the AfghanMujahideen but also non-Muslim anti-communists. It also seriously harmed the Soviet Communist cause by stabilizing oil prices "throughout the 1980s, just when the Russians were desperate to sell energy in order to keep up with huge hikes in American military spending."[26]
Following King Fahd's stroke in 1995, Abdullah, then Crown Prince, assumed responsibility for foreign policy. A marked change in U.S.-Saudi relations occurred, as Abdullah sought to put distance between his policies and the unpopular pro-Western policies of King Fahd. Abdullah took a more independent line from the US and concentrated on improving regional relations, particularly with Iran. Several long-standing border disputes were resolved, including significantly reshaping the Saudi border with Yemen. The new approach resulted in increasingly strained relations with the US.[9] Despite this, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia remained close. In 1998 Abdullah paid a state visit to Washington and met with U.S. President Bill Clinton.
In 2003 Abdullah's new policy was reflected in the Saudi government's refusal to support or to participate in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Some US critics[which?] saw this as an attempt by the Saudi royal family to placate the kingdom's Islamist radicals. That same year Saudi and U.S. government officials agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Saudi soil. After ascending the throne, King Abdullah (r.2005–2015) followed a more activist foreign policy and continued to push-back on US policies which were unpopular in Saudi Arabia (for example, refusing to provide material assistance to support the new Iraqi government).[9][27] However, increasingly, in common with the US, fear and mistrust of Iran became a significant factor in Saudi policy. In 2010 leaked diplomatic cableds revealed that King Abdullah had urged the U.S. to attack Iran in order to "cut off the head of the snake".[28] Saudi Arabia has long since used its alliance with the United States as a counterbalance to Iran's influence in the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia and other Arab states of the Persian Gulf have looked to the United States for protection against Iran.
Relations with the US and other Western countries became further strained by the fact that Saudi Arabia has been a source of Islamist terrorist activity world-wide. Osama bin Laden and 15 out of the 19 September 11 attacks hijackers were Saudi nationals, though some[quantify] officials argue that bin Laden planned this deliberately in an attempt to strain U.S.-Saudi relations,[29] and former Central Intelligence Agency director James Woolsey described Saudi Arabian Wahhabism as "the soil in which al-Qaeda and its sister terrorist organizations are flourishing".[24] Some[who?] in the U.S. Government also believe that the royal family, through its long and close relations with Wahhabi clerics, had laid the groundwork for the growth of militant groups like al-Qaeda, and that after the attacks had done little to help track the militants or prevent future atrocities.[9]
In February 2019, Saudi Arabia's Crown prince Mohammad bin Salman defended Xinjiang internment camps for Muslims, saying "China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extermination work for its national security."[34][35][36] China has allegedly imprisoned up to 2 million Muslims in concentration camps, where they are subject to abuse and torture.[36][37]
Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Saudi Arabia maintains diplomatic relations with:
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 25 May 1949 when Minister of Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia (Resident in Cairo) Mr. Taffassa Hapte Mikael presented his credentials.[60]
Ethiopia has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate-general in Jeddah.
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 May 1969 when Kenya's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Japheth Kimanzi Ilako, has presented his credentials to King Faisal.[93]
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 October 1956 when Minister of the Republic of Sudan to Saudi Arabia, Sayyid Mahjoub Maccawi, presented his credentials to King Saud.[69]
United States recognized the government of King Ibn Saud in 1931. In the 1930s, oil exploration by Standard Oil commenced. There was no US ambassador resident in Saudi Arabia until 1943, but as World War II progressed, the United States began to believe that Saudi oil was of strategic importance. King Ibn Saud met with the U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on 14 February 1945 in a meeting which lasted three days.[192] The meeting took place on board the USSQuincy at the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal.[192][193] The meeting laid down the basis of the future relations between two countries.[194]
In 1951, under a mutual defence agreement, the U.S. established a permanent U.S. Military Training Mission in the kingdom and agreed to provide training support in the use of weapons and other security-related services to the Saudi armed forces. This agreement formed the basis of what grew into a longstanding security relationship. The United States is one of Saudi Arabia's largest trading partners and closest allies and has had full diplomatic relations since 1933 and they remain strong today. However, Saudi Arabia's relationship with the United States has been put under pressure since late 2013 following the United States backing down from its intervention in the Syrian Civil War and the United States thawing relations with Iran. The international abduction of American children to Saudi Arabia provoked sustained criticism and resulted in a Congressional hearing in 2002 where parents of children held in Saudi Arabia gave impassioned testimony related to the abduction of their children. Washington based Insight magazine ran a series of articles on international abduction during the same period highlighting Saudi Arabia a number of times[195][196][197][198]
Relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were strained after the September 11 attacks in 2001,[according to whom?] when nineteen men affiliated with al-Qaeda, including 15 Saudi nationals, hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners, crashing two of the planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing 2,973. Saudi Arabia issued a statement on the day of the terrorist attacks on America's World Trade Center and Pentagon, calling them "regrettable and inhuman." Saudi recognition of the Taliban stopped and as of mid-November 2001, the Bush administration continued to publicly praise Saudi support for the war on terrorism. However, published media reports have indicated U.S. frustration with Saudi inaction. Although 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, publicly the Saudis were not cooperating with Americans who wanted to look at background files of the hijackers or to interview the hijackers' families.[citation needed]
In his first formal television interview as U.S. President, Barack Obama addressed the Muslim world through an Arabic-language satellite TV network Al-Arabiya. He expressed interest and a commitment to repair relations that have continued to deteriorate under the previous administration.[199] The American envoy to the region is former Sen. George J. Mitchell.
On 20 October 2010, U.S. State Department notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American history – an estimated $60.5billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The package represents a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of the Saudi armed forces.[200]
The U.S. was keen to point out that the arms transfer would increase "interoperability" with U.S. forces. In the 1990–1991 Gulf War, having U.S.-trained Saudi forces, along with military installations built to U.S. specifications, allowed the American armed forces to deploy in a comfortable and familiar battle environment. This new deal would increase these capabilities, as an advanced American military infrastructure is about to be built.[201]
Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulates-general in Houston, Los Angeles and New York City.[202]
United States has an embassy in Riyadh and consulates-general in Dhahran and Jeddah.[203]
When Bengali nationalists began a war of liberation against the Pakistani state, Saudi Arabia supported Pakistan and opposed calls for the independence of Bangladesh. Saudi Arabia saw the Bengali nationalists as opposing a Muslim state and thus opposing Islam. Saudi Arabia provided extensive financial and political support to Pakistan during the conflict. The pro-Soviet, secular and socialist policies of the regime of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh, also antagonized the anti-Communist Saudis. Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh formally established diplomatic relations in 1975–76, after the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by pro-Islamic military officers. The military regimes of Ziaur Rahman and Hussain Muhammad Ershad took steps to forge strong commercial and cultural ties with Saudi Arabia. Since the late 1970s, a large number of both skilled and unskilled Bangladeshi workers have moved to Saudi Arabia; the number of Bangladeshis living in Saudi Arabia today exceeds 2.7million. As one of the most populous Muslim countries, Bangladesh is a major source of Hajj pilgrims. Saudi Arabia has become a major source of financing and economic aid to Bangladesh.[204]
The People's Republic of China and Saudi Arabia established official diplomatic relations on 21 July 1990.[137] Sino-Saudi diplomatic and economic relations grew closer in the 2000s. In January 2006, King Abdullah was the first ever Saudi head of State to visit China. His visit was reciprocated by Chinese President Hu Jintao in April of the same year. In February 2009, Hu visited Saudi Arabia a second time, to "exchange views on international and regional issues of common concern" with King Abdullah.[205]
Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Saudi Arabia was the largest aid donor to China, providing close to €40,000,000 in financial assistance, and an additional €8,000,000 worth of relief materials.[205] In 2008, Sino-Saudi bilateral trade was worth €32,500,000,000,[206] making Saudi Arabia China's largest trading partner in Western Asia.[207] In the first quarter of 2010, Saudi oil export to China has reached over 1,000,000 barrels (160,000m3), exceeding export to USA.[208]
In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including Saudi Arabia, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region.[209][210]
Saudi Arabia is the one of largest suppliers of oil to India. India's booming construction industry and rising affluence has created greater demand for goods and services thereby boosting Indian industrial growth. Saudi Arabia has contributed aid to India after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.
Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Jakarta, while Indonesia has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah. Both countries are the member of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and G-20 major economies. Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have long been close allies. Indonesia sent the largest hajj pilgrims among Muslim countries. The balance of trade is heavily in favor of Saudi Arabia, because of its oil and gas exports to Indonesia. There are more than 600,000 Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia. Migrant worker abuse and death sentences faced by Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia are the main problems that have strained diplomatic relations between two countries.
Saudi Arabia-Iran relations have been strained throughout history due to the differences between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. Although Saudi Arabia and Iran are Muslim majority nations, their relationship is fraught with tension, suspicion and hostility. Various attempts have been made to improve the relationship, though none have had lasting success. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran have aspirations for Islamic leadership and both the countries possess a different vision of regional order. Iran, which after the Islamic Revolution strictly followed an anti-US policy, always deemed Saudi Arabia as an agent of the US in the Persian Gulf region that speaks for US interests. Saudi Arabia's concerns about Iran on the other side are mainly associated with its plans of expanding influence to other parts of the Persian Gulf region, especially in post-Saddam Iraq, and the quest to build its own nuclear arsenal.[211]
Differences in political ideologies and governance also divided both the countries. For Iran, it is said that there is no place for monarchical regimes in Islam, like the ones seen in Saudi Arabia and also in some other Arab countries. Energy difference is a third source of tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. While Saudi Arabia, compared to Iran's smaller oil reserves and larger population, can afford to take a long-term view of the global oil market and has an incentive to moderate prices, Iran is compelled to focus on high prices in the short term.[211]
Relations in the 2010s and 2020s were increasingly unstable due to the outbreak of crisis in Syria and Iraq in 2014 with the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Despite both countries' efforts to help contain the situation, the Iranian government has at times accused Saudi Arabia of supporting ISIS, which they had done up until the events of June 2014. Relations dropped to an all-time low following the Saudi state's execution of 47 Shia Muslim protesters in January 2016.
Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they would resume relations in 2023.[212]
Postwar Saudi policy focused on ways to contain potential Iraqi threats to the kingdom and the region. One elements of Riyadh's containment policy included support for Iraqi opposition forces that advocated the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's government. In the past, backing for such groups had been discreet, but in early 1992 the Saudi's invited several Iraqi opposition leaders to Riyadh to attend a well-publicised conference. To further demonstrate Saudi dissatisfaction with the regime in Baghdad, Crown Prince Abdallah permitted the media to videotape his meeting with some of the opponents of Saddam Hussein.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia opened a new consulate in Baghdad. Earlier in 2016, the Kingdom reopened its embassy in Baghdad after it was closed in 1990.[213]
A charter member of the Arab League, Saudi Arabia has supported Palestinian rights to sovereignty, and called for withdrawal from the Occupied Territories since 1967. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has changed its viewpoint concerning the validity of negotiating with Israel. It calls for Israel's withdrawal from territory occupied in June 1967 in order to obtain peace with the Arab states; then-Crown Prince Abdullah extended a multilateral peace proposal based on withdrawal in 2002. At that time, Israel did not respond to the offer. In 2007 Saudi Arabia again officially supported a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Saudi Arabia rejected the Camp David accords, claiming that they would be unable to achieve a comprehensive political solution that would ensure Palestinian Arabs could all move to Israel and the division of Jerusalem. In response to Egypt "betraying" the Arab States and signing peace with Israel, Saudi Arabia, along with all the Arab States, broke diplomatic relations with and suspended aid to Egypt, the two countries renewed formal ties in 1987.
Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The country participates in an active economic boycott of Israel. However, Saudi Arabia recognizes that its ally, the United States, has a strong and supportive relationship of Israel.
Saudi Arabia played an active role in attempting to bring the Palestinians towards a self-governing condition which would permit negotiations with Israel. It has done so primarily by trying to mend the schism between Fatah and Hamas, most notably when King Abdullah invited the two factions to negotiations in Mecca resulting in the Mecca Agreement of 7 February 2007. The agreement soon failed, but Saudi Arabia has continued to support a national unity government for the Palestinians, and strongly opposed Israel's war on Gaza in early 2009.
The Times has reported that Saudi Arabia has tested the ability to stand down their air defenses to allow an Israeli strike on Iran to pass through their airspace.[214] Both nations have denied this.[215][216]
Japan is a major trading partner for Saudi Arabia. In 2006, Japan exported $5.103million worth of goods to the Kingdom, primarily automobiles, machinery and equipment, and metals. In the same year, Saudi Arabia exported $33.624million worth of goods to Japan, primarily crude oil and petroleum products. Japan imported 1.3million barrels a day of Saudi crude in 2006, 31% of the nation's total supply.[217]
Relations with Jordan became strained in the years following the Persian Gulf war. Relations were mended in 1996 when Prince Abdullah visited the country. The countries have since met and discussed international development and the Arab situation.
Saudi Arabia is responsible for ending the Hashemite dynasty's control over Hejaz through their conquests following World War I. Jordan is currently ruled by a branch of the dynasty originally from Hejaz, and installed in Trans-Jordan by the British following the conquest of the region from the Ottomans. It is not entirely apparent how this influences their relationship.
Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia has an embassy in Riyadh. Relations, both diplomatic and economic, are quite close between the two Muslim-majority Organisation of Islamic Cooperation members. Additionally, there is a sizable population of Malaysian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
Bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are largely friendly. Pakistan has been called the closest non-Arab ally of Saudi Arabia, or "Saudi Arabia's closest Muslim ally"[221] Saudi Arabia has been rocking the cradle of Pakistani politics, brokering truce among warring leaders, providing asylum to those being exiled and generously lavishing funds on a state strapped for cash.[222]
Diplomatic relations were established at the independence of Pakistan in 1947 and have strengthened considerably owing to cooperation in regional affairs and trade. In 1969 the personnel of the Pakistani Air Force flew the Saudi fighter planes to ward off an invasion from South Yemen. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invested in Pakistan, in many Industries. Since the inception of Pakistan, Pakistan has been playing a major and important role in the development of Saudi Arabia. Pakistan has provided assistance in the field of science and technology, infrastructure development and many more fields, Pakistan is providing training facilities to Saudi Armed forces. The Faisal Mosque, the National Mosque of Pakistan in Islamabad, is named in honour of King Faisal and was funded by Saudi Arabia.
Due to the Kingdom's continuing support, many places in Pakistan are named after Saudi Kings and Saudi Arabia in general. For example, the city previously named Lyallpur was renamed Faisalabad in honor of the late Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Also, in Karachi, Pakistan, there are neighbourhoods named Saud Colony, Saudabad, Faisal Colony. Also in Karachi, there is an airforce base name Faisal Airbase named after King Faisal and also, in the honor of King Faisal, the main business street of Pakistan is called Sharah-e-Faisal in Karachi.
In 2005, due to passing of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan declared a seven-day mourning period. Saudi Arabia also hosted former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for 8 years while he was in exile. During his stay there, Kingdom held talks with Sharif and even provided him with license to operate business in the Kingdom. It is believed that it was Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which held talks with President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan to foster their relationship and to allow Sharif back in Pakistan.
The leaked cables revealed in 2010 that Saudis are "long accustomed to having a significant role in Pakistan's affairs."[223] One of the Saudi diplomat boasted about the Saudi involvement in Pakistani affairs, stating, "We in Saudi Arabia are not observers in Pakistan, we are participants."[citation needed] Saudi Arabia also complained over President Zardari's alleged corruption and bias against Shiite Iran, thus fearing a Shia triangle stretching from Iraq, Iran to Pakistan. The cables further alleged that, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, then Saudi assistant minister of interior, described the Pakistani Chief of Army staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as a "decent man" and the Pakistani Army as Saudi Arabia's "winning horse" and its "best bet"[citation needed] for "stability".[223]Time reported that "despite the tensions with Zardari's government, military and intelligence links between Riyadh and Islamabad remain strong and close." Time interviewee, Arif Rafiq of an international consulting firm, stated that the cables "demonstrate that the Saudis have deep vested interests in Pakistan and an influence that is so significant that even the U.S. in some way relies on Saudi knowledge of the country."[223]
State of Palestine and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations on 1 January 1989 when opened Embassy State of Palestine in Riyadh.[135]
The internationally recognized PA government maintains cordial relations with Saudi Arabia and has aligned itself with the pro-Saudi bloc in the region, while Saudi Arabia is hostile to Hamas due it its backing from Iran. Despite cordial relations, beginning sometime in the mid to late 2000s, Saudi Arabia has continued to support Palestine, albeit in a limited fashion and has adopted the position of a peaceful settlement between the Arab/Islamic world and Israel, and has been criticized at times of 'betraying' Palestine.
Palestine has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah.
The Philippines–Saudi Arabia relations refers to the bilateral relations of the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 24 October 1969.[95]
Trade relations: In 2012, Saudi Arabia was the 10th largest trading partner of the Philippines, 31st and 8th largest market in the export and import market respectively. Saudi Arabia was also the Philippines' largest trading partner and import supplier, and second largest export market in the Middle East. According to the Saudi government, trade between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines amounted to $3.6billion in 2011, a bigger figure from compared to the previous year's trade figure amounting to $2.7billion.
Labor relations: As of June 2013, there are about 674,000 Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia according to the Saudi Ministry of Interior. A landmark agreement on Filipino household service workers were signed between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. The agreement was the first for Saudi Arabia with a labor-supplying country.[224]
In 2012, about 150,000 Filipino female nurses are working in Saudi Arabia. This accounts for 25 percent of the total number of Overseas Filipino Workers in the Kingdom.[225]
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 October 1971 when signed agreement to exchange ambassadors.[98]
In 1969, an agreement with Qatar was reached about their borders after three years of dispute. A final agreement about the Qatar border was signed in 2001.
Some financial economists have interpreted the 2014 Saudi–Qatari rift as the tangible political sign of a growing economic rivalry between oil and natural gas producers, which could "have deep and long-lasting consequences" beyond the Middle East-North Africa area.[229]
On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations, as well as other ties, with Qatar.[230] Saudi Arabia explained the decision by referring to Qatar's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region", including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, Islamic State, and groups supported by Iran in the kingdom's eastern province of Qatif.[231]
The link between South Korea and Saudi Arabia have been historically strong from the old era when Arab merchants came to the Korean Kingdom United Silla in 7th and 8th century.[232] This has resulted in the growth of trades between Korea and the Arab world despite regime changes on both sides.[232]
During the period 1973-1984, a total of approximately 720,000 Korean workers were employed in various projects in Saudi Arabia.[235] Korean migration to Saudi Arabia has peaked in 1982 and 1983, with over 122,000 South Koreans entering Saudi Arabia in each of those years, making up over 70% of Korean migration to the region. However, by 1985, the number of South Koreans entering Saudi Arabia had fallen to 58,924, paralleling a downward trend in the whole region.[236] As of 2015, there are 5,189 Koreans living in Saudi Arabia.[237]
In business, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest exporter of oil to the Republic of Korea (300,000,000 barrels, 2014) Also, ARAMCO Korea was established in 2012. In 2016, two-way trade volume reached US$29.04 billion with South Korea exporting cars, electronic goods, steel and other items to Saudi Arabia and importing oil and other petrochemical products from it.[238] Now, South Korea is described as a "core" partner for the Saudi Vision 2030 project, noting progress in joint efforts to flesh out their cooperation scheme to realize the vision.[238]
South Korea has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah
The country enjoyed a very friendly and strongly strategic partnership[240] The historically friendly and strategic relationship between Thailand and Saudi Arabia had drastically deteriorated since the 1990s, following the Blue Diamond Affair. Diplomatic missions were downgraded to the chargé d'affaires level and the number of Thai workers in Saudi Arabia plummeted.[240] Saudi Arabia did not issue working visas for Thais and discouraged its citizens from visiting the country. Relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia, already strained, plunged to a new low in 2014 following a Criminal Court decision that acquitted five ex-police officers in relation to the murder of a Saudi businessman in 1990.[241] On January 26, 2022, both countries announced they restored full diplomatic relations and have appointed ambassadors.[242] Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Bangkok and Thailand has an embassy in Riyadh.[243]
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 3 August 1929.[42]
Turkey was one of the first states that recognised the country in 1926 and had a diplomatic mission in Hijaz.[244] Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate – general in Istanbul.[245] Turkey has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate – general in Jeddah.[246][247] Both countries are full members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). On the other hand, in 1986 Saudi Arabia proposed that Turkey should have ended commercial relations with Iran and that it could compensate Turkey's losses resulting from this.[248]
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 21 June 1957 when the Government of Saudi Arabia is establishing a Legation in Yemen and appointed Abdul Rahman Abikan as its first Minister of Saudi Arabia to Yemen.[72]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2011)
For Saudi Arabia, Yemen has long been a serious national security concern. Relations between the two countries have historically fluctuated with the Saudis having many access points into Yemen via both formal and informal networks. Then Crown Prince Sultan managed the tribal networks for decades but the tribal system is diminishing and the Saudi tribal connections have weakened as a result. While relations with former President Saleh were often stormy, Saudi Arabia considers the Iranian backed Houthis to be a terrorist group and a threat to the stability of not only their kingdom but the entire region. Due to these concerns, Saudi Arabia led an invasion of Yemen in 2015, resulting in an ongoing conflict.
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 February 1962 when has been accredited first Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Denmark Sheik Gawad Moustafa Zikry.[85]
Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Hellerup, Copenhagen.[251]
Denmark has an embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[252]
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 26 April 1929.[41] Diplomatic Relations between Federal Republic of Germany and Saudi Arabia were established on 10 November 1954.[258]See Germany–Saudi Arabia relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 10 February 1932 with signed the Treaty of Friendship between Italy and the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz.[47]See Italy–Saudi Arabia relations
Italy has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah.
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 9 June 1930 when first the Netherlands Charge d'Affaires, M. Van de Meulen, presented letters of credence to King Ibn Saud.[45]See Netherlands–Saudi Arabia relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1957[76]
The 2005 Project Simoom contract on weapon industry cooperation[264][265] was torn up by the Swedish government in 2015.[266]
Swedish foreign minister Wallström's planned speech[267] for the Arab Union in March 2015 was blocked by Saudi Arabia, after Sweden criticized Saudi Arabia on human rights issues.[268]
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 20 May 1927 when signed in Jeddah Treaty of Friendship between Great Britain and Kingdom of Hejaz and Najd.[40]
The United Kingdom and United States have become a major centre for public relations (PR) supporting the Saudi regime. Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and north Africa programme at Chatham House, said that Saudi Arabia had embarked upon a "wide-ranging PR campaign focused on the UK and the US" since 2016, which involved English-language content targeting a British audience. This PR, linked with the support of Theresa May in arms sales during the war in Yemen. In the UK, media PR depicted Mohammed bin Salman as a reforming prince, and major newspapers ran adverts promoting Bin Salman's 'reform agenda'.[272][273]
This image has been undermined by disappearance and apparent Saudi state-sanctioned murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.[272][273] Following these allegations, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said, "We call on the government of Saudi Arabia to support a thorough investigation of Mr Khashoggi's disappearance and to be transparent about the results of that investigation"[274] and a UK Foreign Office spokesman said, "These are extremely serious allegations. We are aware of the latest reports and are working urgently to establish the facts, including with the government of Saudi Arabia." France also sought an explanation as to how an "accomplished and esteemed" journalist such as Khashoggi vanished.[275]
Following the murder of Khashoggi, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel halted the sale of weapons to Saudi. A non-binding resolution was also voted in the European Parliament to "impose an EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia". Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threatened to cancel a multimillion-dollar defence contract amidst the Khashoggi controversy.[276]
Consulum, a London-based PR firm primarily staffed by former Bell Pottinger employees, has worked on communications programmes with the Saudi Arabian government and PR firm Freud Communications, which has worked with the kingdom in propagating the Saudi Vision 2030 relaunch under Bin Salman, distanced itself from the regime following the disappearance of Khashoggi. Pagefield Global Counsel and Kekst CNC (a London division of French PR company Publicis) have said that they previously worked with the regime but no longer work in Saudi Arabia.
A number of media companies that have worked with the Saudi state to promote its overseas image. Bin Salman met Vice Media founder Shane Smith in early 2018 on his tour of the US, and Vice has had a team promoting the country with the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), a Saudi regime-affiliated publishing group and 'organ of soft power'. SMRG has signed a deal with The Independent to launch foreign-language websites (including Arabic) across the Middle East, which has led to concern over potential editorial influence by the Saudi publisher. SMRG also donates to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change to facilitate Tony Blair's work on the Saudi modernisation programme.[272][273]
According to a FARA eFile document filed with the US Department of Justice, the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., hired an ex-top lobbyist of the Heritage Foundation for a brief legislative push before the inauguration of 2020 President-elect Joe Biden and his administration. The contract with Off Hill Strategies worth $25,000-per-month was effective from 19 October 2020 through 18 January 2021, two days before the inauguration of President Biden. As per the filing, the PR firm was tasked with serving "federal legislative advocacy and related services to support the Embassy's congressional outreach efforts and further advance bilateral ties between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States." During the primary debate of 2019, Biden was quoted as calling Saudi Arabia a "pariah" and promising to end the US arms sales to Riyadh following its alleged use in the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians. Off Hill Strategies has been called the Saudi embassy's first hiring in 2020.[277][278]
Since 1980, the foreign relations of Iraq have been influenced by a number of controversial decisions by the Saddam Hussein administration. Hussein had good relations with the Soviet Union and a number of western countries such as France and Germany, who provided him with advanced weapons systems. He also developed a tenuous relation with the United States, who supported him during the Iran–Iraq War. However, the Invasion of Kuwait that triggered the Gulf War brutally changed Iraq's relations with the Arab World and the West. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and others were among the countries that supported Kuwait in the UN coalition. After the Hussein administration was toppled by the 2003 U.S. invasion, the governments that succeeded it have now tried to establish relations with various nations.
Since its independence in 1961, Kuwait has maintained strong international relations with most countries, especially nations within the Arab world. Its vast oil reserves give it a prominent voice at the global economic forums and organizations like the OPEC. Kuwait is also a major ally of ASEAN, a regional ally of China, and a major non-NATO ally.
When Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said assumed power in 1970, Oman had limited contacts with the outside world, including neighbouring Arab states. A special treaty relationship permitted the United Kingdom close involvement in Oman's civil and military affairs. Ties with the United Kingdom remained very close throughout Sultan Qaboos' reign, along with strong ties to the United States.
Ensuring national security, increasing influence among its Arab neighbours and securing the return of the Golan Heights, have been the primary goals of the Syrian Arab Republic's foreign policy. At many points in its history, Syria has seen tension with its neighbours, such as Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon. Syria enjoyed an improvement in relations with several of the states in its region in the 21st century, prior to the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war. Until 2018, due to the Syrian civil war, the Syrian Arab Republic's government was partially isolated from the countries in the region and the wider international community. Diplomatic relations are severed with several countries, including Turkey, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, the UK, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Qatar, Georgia, and Ukraine. In 2011 and 2012, Syria was suspended from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and Union for the Mediterranean. Syria is also a full member of the Arab League. Syria is a candidate state of the new Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
The foreign relations of Yemen are the relationships and policies that Yemen maintains with other countries. It is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Yemen participates in the nonaligned movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors, the YAR and the PDRY. Additionally, Yemen acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has stressed the need to render the Middle East region free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
Greece–Saudi Arabia relations refers to the bilateral relations between Greece and Saudi Arabia. Greece has an embassy in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Athens. Greece has also a Consulate General in Jeddah.
Bilateral relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been strained over several geopolitical issues, such as aspirations for regional leadership, oil export policy and relations with the United States and other Western countries. Diplomatic relations were suspended from 1987 to 1990, and they were more recently suspended from 2016 to 2023 again following certain issues like the intervention in Yemen, Iran embassy bombing in Yemen, incidents during the 2015 Hajj, the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, and the attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. However, in March 2023, after discussions brokered by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reestablish relations. As of October 2024, Saudi Arabia and Iran have made efforts to improve their relations. In a meeting in Doha, Qatar, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed the promotion of bilateral ties, Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, and Iran’s recent “retaliatory attacks” on Israel. The two sides emphasized the need to set aside their differences and work towards the expansion of relations.
Malaysia–Saudi Arabia relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur, while Malaysia has a High Commission in Riyadh and a consulate general in Jeddah. Relations, both diplomatic and economic, are quite close between the two Muslim-majority Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members.
Foreign relations exist between Austria and Saudi Arabia. Both countries had diplomatic contact since 7 July 1880, with the opening of an Austrian consulate in Jeddah. Official and direct diplomatic relations were established on 10 September 1957. Today, Austria has an embassy in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Vienna.
China–Saudi Arabia relations refers to the current and historical bilateral relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Formal diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia were established on October 24, 1969.
Saudi Arabia–Syria relations refer to bilateral and economic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic. Diplomatic ties between these two countries of the Middle East have long been strained by the major events in the region. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Damascus, and Syria has an embassy in Riyadh. Both countries are members of the Arab League and share close cultural ties.
Indonesia and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations in 1950. Relations are particularly important because Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, and Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population; both are Muslim majority countries. Economy and trade relations are also particularly important, especially on oil (energy) and human resources sectors. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Jakarta, while Indonesia has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah. Both countries are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and G-20 major economies.
Poland–Saudi Arabia relations refers to the bilateral relations between Poland and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between The Kingdom of Spain and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Madrid and a consulate general in Málaga. Spain has an embassy in Riyadh. Both countries maintain a good relationship, with both of the countries being kingdoms.
Saudi Arabia-South Africa relations are the bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Pretoria. South Africa has an embassy in Riyadh. Both countries are members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the G20 major economies.
↑ Noi, Aylin ¨Unver. "A Clash of Islamic Models"(PDF). CURRENT TRENDS IN ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY / VOL. 15. Hudson Institute. Archived from the original(PDF) on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2014. Saudi-led "Pro-Western Camp" aligned with the U.S. and composed of Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf states.
↑ Rodenbeck, Max (21 October 2004). "Unloved in Arabia". The New York Review of Books. 51 (16). During the Reagan administration, Saudi Arabia effectively became a weapon in the all-out assault on communism. It was not just the Afghan Mujahideen who benefited, fatefully as we well know, from Saudi largesse, but America's proxy fighters on other cold-war fronts, from Angola to Central America to the Horn of Africa. Less dramatically but perhaps more crucially, the kingdom also bled the Soviet Union by keeping oil prices down throughout the 1980s, just when the Russians were desperate to sell energy in order to keep up with huge hikes in American military spending. In periods of shortage during the past ten years, such as during the Iraq wars and Venezuela's 2002 oil strike, the Saudis have cranked up production to keep prices stable.
1 2 British Documents on Foreign Affairs--reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print From the First to the Second World War. Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918-1939 · Volume 6. University Publications of America. 1986. p.237.
↑ British Documents on Foreign Affairs--reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print. From the First to the Second World War. Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918-1939 · Volume 7. University Publications of America. 1986. p.12.
1 2 British Documents on Foreign Affairs--reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print From the First to the Second World War. Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918-1939 · Volume 7. University Publications of America. 1986. p.12.
↑ Joshua Yaphe (2021). Saudi Arabia and Iraq as Friends and Enemies. Borders, Tribes and a History Shared. Liverpool University Press. p.35.
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↑ al-Yamāmah, 795–808 (in Arabic). 1984. p.22. جلالة الملك فهد بن عبد العزيز المفدى بمكتبه بالديوان الملكي بعد ظهر الاربعاء الماضي اوراق اعتماد سفيري كل من جمهورية جزر القمر الاتحادية الاسلامية ابراهيم عبد الله ابراهيم..
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