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The Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF), also known as the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, are the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It consists of the Saudi Arabian Land Forces, the Royal Saudi Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Royal Saudi Air Defense, and the Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force. The King of Saudi Arabia is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and forms military policy with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. The five Armed Forces are among eight military forces of Saudi Arabia, with the others including the Saudi Arabian National Guard, the Saudi Royal Guard Regiment and Saudi Arabian Border Guards.
Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia refers to diplomatic and trade relations between Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world. The foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is focused on co-operation with the oil-exporting Gulf States, the unity of the Arab world, Islamic solidarity, and support for the United Nations. In practice, the main concerns in recent years have been relations with the US, the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Iraq, the perceived threat from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the effect of oil pricing. Saudi Arabia contributes large amounts of development aid to Muslim countries. From 1986 to 2006, the country donated £49 billion in aid.
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The council's main headquarters is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Charter of the GCC was signed on 25 May 1981, formally establishing the institution.
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Arab world, and the largest in Western Asia and the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. Bahrain is an island country off the east coast. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. Its capital and largest city is Riyadh. The country is home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.
The House of Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman, the modern founder of Saudi Arabia. The most influential position of the royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarch. The family in total is estimated to comprise some 15,000 members; however, the majority of power, influence and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them. Some estimates of the royal family's wealth measure their net worth at $1.4 trillion. This figure includes the market capitalization of Saudi Aramco, the state oil and gas company, and its vast assets in fossil fuel reserves.
The Saudi Arabia national football team represent Saudi Arabia in men's international football. They are known as Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur in reference to their traditional colours of green and white and represent both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, he assumed the throne on 23 January 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 16 June 2012 to 23 January 2015. Salman is the 3rd oldest living head of state and the oldest living monarch.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The founder of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Al-Saud
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia since 13 June 1982. He was the tenth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, and the fifth of Abdulaziz's six sons who were kings.
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home.
Muhammad bin Nayef Al Saud, colloquially known by his initials MBN or MbN, is a former Saudi Arabian politician and businessman who served as the crown prince and first deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2017 and as the minister of interior from 2012 to 2017.
Salman bin Mohammed bin Mohammed Al-Faraj is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and captains both Saudi Professional League club Al-Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team.
Salem bin Mohammed bin Shafi Al-Dawsari is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team.
Yasser bin Gharsan bin Saeed Al-Mohammadi Al-Shahrani is a Saudi Arabian footballer who plays for Al-Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team as a left-back or a centre-back. He moved from Al-Qadisiyah to Al-Hilal in 2012, after impressive performances at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he scored against Guatemala. He featured on the official Middle Eastern cover of the game FIFA 16, alongside Lionel Messi.
Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. He also serves as the chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and chairman of the Council of Political and Security Affairs. He is considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, being deemed as such even before his appointment as prime minister. He served as minister of defense from 2015 to 2022. He is the seventh son of King Salman.
Abdullah bin Ibrahim bin Yahya Otayf is a Saudi Arabian footballer who plays for Al-Hilal as a midfielder.
On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched an intervention in the Yemeni Civil War in response to calls from the president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after he was ousted by the Houthi movement. The conflict ignited between the government forces, the Houthi rebels and other armed groups after the draft constitution and power-sharing arrangements collapsed, despite progress in the political transition led by the United Nations at that time, leading to an escalation of violence in mid-2014. The Houthis and allied units of the armed forces seized control of Sana’a and other parts of the country in September 2014 and in the following months. This prompted President Hadi to ask Saudi Arabia to intervene against the Iranian-backed Houthis.
Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Syrian Civil War involved the large-scale supply of weapons and ammunition to various rebel groups in Syria during the Syrian Civil War.
Mohammed bin Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Breik is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Al-Hilal of Saudi Professional League.
Mohammed bin Khalil bin Ibrahim Al-Owais is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Al-Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team.
References
- ↑ "2015 World Championship Roster" (PDF). IHF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
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