Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia

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Saudi Arabia
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Saudi foreign policy objectives are to maintain its security and its paramount position on the Arabian Peninsula, defend general Arab and Islamic interests, promote solidarity among Islamic governments, and maintain cooperative relations with other oil-producing and major oil-consuming countries. Although accused of being tolerant to extremism, the foreign policy is generally pacific and does not advocate belligerence, violent reform or revolution.

Saudi Arabia signed the UN Charter in 1945. The country plays a prominent role in the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and Arab and Islamic financial and development assistance institutions. One of the largest aid donors in the world, it still gives some aid to a number of Arab, African, and Asian countries. Jeddah is the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its subsidiary organization, the Islamic Development Bank, founded in 1969.

1 Membership in OPEC
2 First Persian Gulf War
3 Pre-9/11 relationship with the United States
4 Post 9/11 relationship with the United States
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Membership in OPEC

Membership in the 11-member OPEC and in the technically and economically oriented Arab producer group--the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries--facilitates coordination of Saudi oil policies with other oil-exporting governments. As the world's leading exporter of petroleum, Saudi Arabia has a special interest in preserving a stable and long-term market for its vast oil resources by allying itself with healthy Western economies which can protect the value of Saudi financial assets. It generally has acted to stabilize the world oil market and tried to moderate sharp price movements.

The Saudi Government frequently helps mediate regional crises and support the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. A charter member of the Arab League, Saudi Arabia supports the position that Israel must withdraw from the territories which it occupied in June 1967, as according to United Nations Resolution 242. Saudi Arabia supports a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict but rejected the Camp David accords, claiming that they would be unable to achieve a comprehensive political solution that would ensure Palestinian rights and adequately address the status of Jerusalem. Although Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic relations with and suspended aid to Egypt in the wake of Camp David, the two countries renewed formal ties in 1987. Israel has no diplomatic recognition, and the country participates in an active economic boycott of Israel.

[edit] First Persian Gulf War

In 1990-91, Saudi Arabia played an important role in the Persian Gulf War, developing new allies and improving existing relationships with some other countries. However, there also were diplomatic and financial costs. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya deteriorated. Each country had remained silent following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait but called for an end to violence once the deployment of coalition troops began. Relations between these countries and Saudi Arabia have returned to their pre-war status. Saudi Arabia's relations with those countries which expressed support for Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait--Yemen, Jordan, and Sudan--were severely strained during and immediately after the war. For example, several hundred thousand Yemenis were expelled from Saudi Arabia after the Government of Yemen announced its position, thus exacerbating an existing border dispute. Saudi-Yemeni relations, especially in the wake of the 1994 Yemen civil war, remain fragile and of significant concern to the Saudi Government. The Palestine Liberation Organization's support for Iraq cost it financial aid as well as good relations with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states. Recently, though, Saudi Arabia's relations with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have improved, with the Saudi Government providing assistance for Palestinian Authority.

During and after the Persian Gulf War, the Government of Saudi Arabia provided water, food, shelter, and fuel for coalition forces in the region. There also were monetary payments to some coalition partners. Saudi Arabia's combined costs in payments, foregone revenues, and donated supplies were $55 billion. More than $15 billion went toward reimbursing the United States alone.

Saudi Arabia became one of three countries to offer the Taliban diplomatic recognition in 1997. Saudi aid flowed to the Taliban, including logistical and humanitarian support during its rise to power and a continued commitment afterward. An estimated $2 million came each year from Saudi Arabia's major charity, funding two universities and six health clinics and supporting 4,000 orphans; King Fahd sent an annual shipment of dates as a gift.

[edit] Pre-9/11 relationship with the United States

Saudi Arabia and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1933. King Abdel Aziz granted a concession to the U.S. company, Standard Oil, allowing them to explore for oil in the country's Eastern Province. The joint enterprise eventually became known as the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). The company granted a loan of £50,000 to the Saudi government and paid it other assorted rental fees and royalty payments. In exchange, Aramco received exclusive rights to mine, produce and export oil from the eastern part of the country, free of Saudi taxes and duties.

In 1938, efforts were rewarded with the first discovery of commercial quantities of oil at Dammam Well Number 7, located near Dhahran. The agreement was modified several times over the years. In 1950, Saudi Arabia and Aramco agreed to a 50-50 profit-sharing arrangement, and a series of agreements between 1973 and 1980 resulted in the Saudis' regaining full control of the company. In 1988, King Fahd issued a royal decree establishing the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, known as Saudi Aramco, to replace Aramco.

1940-1945: Although Saudi Arabia officially maintained neutrality through most of World War II, the U.S. began to court the kingdom as it realized the strategic importance of Saudi oil reserves. In 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt made Saudi Arabia eligible for Lend-Lease assistance by declaring the defense of Saudi Arabia of vital interest to the U.S. In 1945, King Abdel Aziz and President Roosevelt cemented the tacit oil-for-security relationship when they met aboard the USS Quincy in the Suez Canal.

In 1951, under a mutual defense 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. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assisted in the construction of military installations in the kingdom. This agreement formed the basis of what grew into a longstanding security relationship. Two years later, King Abdel died and was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Saud, who was known for his reputation as a spendthrift. Under King Saud, the kingdom's treasury diminished rapidly and he was forced to turn over direct control of government affairs to his half-brother Faisal from 1958 to 1961. In 1964, the royal family and religious leadership forced Saud to abdicate in favor of Faisal.

In 1960, at a conference in Baghdad, Saudi Arabia joined Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Venezuela in founding the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The organization -- which was later joined by Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Nigeria -- was established to coordinate and unify the production and pricing of petroleum among the member nations.

Petroleum prices rose during the 1970s and early 1980s, and the Saudi economy became one of the fastest-growing world economies. By 1981, oil revenues in the kingdom had reached $116 billion per year. Many foreign private firms invested in joint ventures to build refineries and other technologies important to the petrochemical industry. The petrodollars were also used to fund the construction of new mosques and religious schools, known as madrassas, throughout the kingdom and abroad. There was an explosion in religious charities that were funded by a newly wealthy citizenry. U.S. officials believe that the network of madrassas across the world -- funded by the Saudi charities and fueled by the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam -- evolved into a network of recruiting schools that were to train Islamic militants to fight the jihad war in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion (1979-1989).

On March 25, 1975, King Faisal was shot and killed by a disgruntled nephew. The assassin was executed, and King Faisal was succeeded by Crown Prince Khalid, whose reign was marked by continued modernization efforts and a more influential role for Saudi Arabia in regional politics.

1979: In the wake of Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution in Iran and the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia continued to strengthen their security relationship. The continuing explosion of petrodollars into the Saudi treasury allowed the government to increase military expenditures. Since 1979, the kingdom has spent more than $50 billion on U.S. military purchases, including 5 airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) and a $5.6 billion "peace shield" -- a state of the art command and control system for the Royal Saudi Air Force with six underground command centers linking 147 defense-related sites. In the U.S., arms sales to Saudi Arabia often faced strong congressional opposition because of fears that the arming of Saudi Arabia would threaten Israel. In 1985, Congress rejected President Reagan's proposed sale of an arms package to Saudi Arabia that included 42 F-15s, antiaircraft missiles, Harpoon antiship missiles, and Blackhawk helicopters, and Reagan was forced to withdraw the proposal. In 1986 and 1988, Congress approved scaled-down arms packages that included Bradley fighting vehicles, TOW II antitank missiles, electronic upgrades for the F-15s, and 12 replacement F-15s that would remain in the U.S. until they were needed by the Saudis. The Stinger antiaircraft and Maverick antitank missiles were deleted from the president's earlier request.

Formation of Gulf Cooperation Council: In 1981, Saudi Arabia joined five other Persian Gulf nations -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates -- in forming the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an economic and political policy-coordinating forum. At the time, the six countries contained more than half the world's oil resources.

In 1982, after a short illness, King Khalid died and was succeeded by Crown Prince Fahd. King Fahd faced decreased oil revenues due to declining global oil prices in the late 1980s and 1990s. However, King Fahd maintained healthy relations with the United States.

Saudi Arabia and the United States were close allies during the crisis and war that followed the surprise Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. As Iraqi combat forces moved toward the Saudi border, King Fahd authorized the deployment of U.S. forces to aid in his border defense. The kingdom hosted over 600,000 allied forces, and its treasury reached record deficit levels in 1990 and 1991. The U.S. spent $60 billion on the Gulf War, with the Saudis and Kuwaitis footing half the bill. As a result, the Saudi government was forced to borrow from commercial banks and export credit agencies for the first time.

Approximately 5,000 U.S. troops have remained in the kingdom since the Gulf War. Their presence has served as a major grievance for fundamentalist critics of the regime, including Saudi-born Osama bin Laden. In 1992, a group of 107 Wahhabi religious figures sent a 46-age "Memorandum of Advice" to King Fahd, which criticized the government for corruption and human-rights abuses and for allowing U.S. troops on Saudi soil. King Fahd dismissed seven of the seventeen members of the country's highest clerical body, the Supreme Authority of Senior Scholars, for refusing to denounce the memorandum.

In 1994, prompted by King Faud's arrest of two dissident Wahhabi clerics for anti-government preaching, several thousand protestors staged demonstrations. The clerics had accused the monarchy of corruption and of betraying Islam by allowing U.S. troops on the Saudi peninsula. While the government admitted it arrested over 100 protestors, opposition groups claimed thousands were arrested after the demonstrations.

The incident forced the government to cede more control to the Wahhabi clerics, but only with the promise of their support. The clerics were quietly released from prison in 1999.

In November 1995, terrorists attacked U.S. troops on Saudi soil. Five Americans were killed when a bomb exploded at a U.S.-operated Saudi National Guard training center in Riyadh. The Saudi government arrested four Saudi men in connection with the bombing and coerced them into a public confession. In the confession, they claimed to have been inspired by communiqués from Osama bin Ladin. Although bin Laden denied involvement, he praised the attack. Before the FBI had a chance to interview the suspects, they were beheaded.

In June 1996, a large truck bomb devastated the U.S. military residence in Dhahran, called Khobar Towers, killing 19 servicemen. Again, U.S. law-enforcement efforts to investigate the bombing were met with resistance by Saudi officials. In June 2001, a federal grand jury indicted 13 Saudis and one Lebanese man for the attack. As of mid-November 2001, Saudi Arabia has ruled out the idea of any extraditions.

King Faud suffered a stroke during the time of these attacks, and by 1997, Crown Prince Abdullah had become the de facto leader of the country. In contrast to King Fahd, who was seen as a staunch U.S. ally, Crown Prince Abdullah is known for his support of Arab and Islamic causes, particularly his strong support of the Palestinian intifada. He has criticized the U.S. for not opposing Israeli violence in Palestine, declining a May 2001 invitation to visit the White House.

In September 1996, the Taliban gained control of the Afghan city of Kabul. The following year, Saudi Arabia became one of only three countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Taliban. The Taliban are followers of the Deobandi school of Islam, an extreme form of the faith closely related to Wahhabism. Although diplomatic ties were not broken until after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, relations were scaled back in 1998 after the kingdom accused the Taliban of harboring Osama bin Laden.

On Sept. 25, 2001, Saudi Arabia broke relations with the Taliban and issued a statement that said: "It is to be regretted that the government of the Taliban made use of Afghanistan's special status, not to build up brotherly relations or set up high Islamic values, but to make its land a center to attract and train a number of misguided people of all nationalities, and in particular, from among the citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in order to carry out criminal acts that are against every tenet of Shariah [Islamic Law] and faith: moreover, Taliban has continued to refuse to hand those criminals over to justice."

Frustrated by the lack of U.S. response to Israeli-Palestinian violence, Crown Prince Abdullah sent President George W. Bush an angry letter on August 29, according to an October 2001 report in The Wall Street Journal. He warned that Saudi Arabia was being put in an untenable position and reportedly wrote: "A time comes when peoples and nations part. We are at a crossroads. It is time for the United States and Saudi Arabia to look at their separate interests. Those governments that don't feel the pulse of their people and respond to it will suffer the fate of the Shah of Iran." 13-days later, 19 men affiliated with al-Qaeda[2][3], 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, one plane into each tower, which caused both towers to collapse within two hours. Hijackers of the third aircraft crashed that plane into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth hijacked aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane from the hijackers; that plane crashed into a field in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Approximately 3,000 people died in these attacks.

[edit] Post 9/11 relationship with the United States

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 to 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 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, publicly the Saudis were not cooperating with Americans wanting to look at background files of the hijackers or interview the hijackers' families. Although the U.S. might have wanted to use Saudi bases for its campaign in Afghanistan, the U.S. knew it couldn't ask the Saudis to allow American planes to fly bombing raids against the Taliban.

Saudi Arabia engaged the prominent Washington D.C. lobbying firm of Patton Boggs, headed by Thomas Boggs (brother of Cokie Roberts of ABC News and National Public Radio), as registered foreign agents in the wake of the public relations disaster when knowledge of the identities of suspected hijackers became known.

Saudi Arabia introduced tourist visas only in 2004 although it did (and still does) issue pilgrimage visas for Hajj pilgrims.

[edit] Disputes - international

Large sections of the boundary with Yemen are not defined; the location and status of the boundary with the United Arab Emirates is not final, with the de facto boundary reflecting the 1974 agreement; Kuwaiti ownership of the islands of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim is disputed by Saudi Arabia; but the June 1999 agreement has furthered the goal of definitively establishing the border with Qatar.

[edit] Illicit drugs

There is a death penalty for traffickers who are responsible for increasing consumption of heroin and cocaine.

[edit] Human rights

Many nations have expressed concern about human rights abuses in the country, including abuse of prisoners and incommunicado detention; prohibitions or severe restrictions on the freedoms of speech, press, peaceful assembly and association, and religion; denial of the right of citizens to change their government; systematic discrimination against women and ethnic and religious minorities; and suppression of workers' rights. Foreigners can be imprisoned without trial for practising their religion in public or private and employment preferences are biased. Many prominent members of society have gotten away scot-free for crimes that deserve punishment helped by a judicial system having no transparency.