Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia are the 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.‘Saudis donate aid to non-Muslims' The Telegraph, 26 March 2006
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. Sunni Islam is the main religion of Saudis. China and Saudi Arabia are major allies, with the relationship between the two countries growing significantly in recent decades. A majority of Saudi Arabians have expressed a favorable view of China.
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. 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.
Saudi Arabia is a founding member of several multinational organizations, including OPEC, the United Nations, the Arab League. It is also a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Muslim World League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Islamic Development Bank—all of which are headquartered in Saudi. The country plays a prominent role in the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and in 2005 joined the World Trade Organization.
According to a UCLA professor James L. Gelvin, Saudi Arabia recently has become much more active in terms of foreign and security policy because of the Arab Spring, the policies of the Obama administration and the mid-2010s collapse of oil prices.
History The history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia goes back to several centuries. After World War II (1939–1945) and during the Cold War (1945–1992), 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.Ricklefs, M.C. A history of modern Indonesia since c.1200. Stanford. 2001 Stanford University Press.Abdullah, Taufik. Adat and Islam: An Examination of Conflict in Minangkabau. 1966.Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape. 2003. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. 1999, The Wahhabi form of Islam is also perceived in the West as a source of Islamist extremism.
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 Afghan Mujahideen 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."
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. 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 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 () 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)."Abdullah's no reformer" Foreign Policy, 28 June 2010 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". 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 officials argue that bin Laden planned this deliberately in an attempt to strain U.S.-Saudi relations, 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".'Fueling Terror', Institute for the Analysis of Global Terror, http://www.iags.org/fuelingterror.html Some 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.
As announced at the 2009 Arab League summit, Saudi Arabia had intended to participate in the Arab Customs Union to be established in 2015 and in an Arab common market to be established by 2020.
Following the wave of early-2011 protests and revolutions affecting the Arab world, Saudi Arabia offered asylum to deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, and King Abdullah telephoned President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt (prior to Mubarak's deposition) to offer his support."Egypt Protests could spread to other countries" The Guardian, 31 January 2011, Retrieved 21 February 2011.
Saudi military forces and their allies became involved in conflict in Yemen (on Saudi Arabia's southern borders) from March 2015 onwards.
Religion
Islamist exportation According to the FFGI at Goethe University Frankfurt, Wahhabism is spread globally with organizations closely associated with the government of Saudi Arabia such as the Muslim World League (WML) and the World Association of Muslim Youth are actively participating.
Between the mid-1970s and 2002, Saudi Arabia expended over $70 billion in "overseas development aid". However, there is evidence that the vast majority was, in fact, spent on propagating and extending the influence of Wahhabism at the expense of other forms of Islam. According to the government-associated paper Ain Al-Yaqeen article in 2002, Saudi government-sponsored projects were active in non-Muslim countries in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Australia and Asia. These encompassed 210 Islamic centers which were completely or partly funded by the Saudi kingdom, 1500 mosques, 202 colleges and almost 2000 schools. The House of Saud has inaugurated 1359 mosques in Europe.
In 2025, Burkina Faso's President Ibrahim Traoré turned down Saudi Arabia's offer to construct 200 mosques in his country, stating that Burkina Faso already has enough mosques. Instead, he requested that Saudi Arabia invest in infrastructure projects such as schools, hospitals, and job-creating businesses, which are more crucial for the nation's development and long-term sustainability.
Other relations 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." China has allegedly imprisoned up to 2 million Muslims in concentration camps, where they are subject to abuse and torture.
Diplomatic relations List of countries which Saudi Arabia maintains diplomatic relations with: #CountryDate1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071727374757677787980818283848586878889909192939495—96979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151—152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179—180181182183184185186187188189
Bilateral relations Africa Country Formal Relations BeganNotesSee Algeria–Saudi Arabia relations Algeria has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate-general in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Algiers. Chad has an embassy in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in N'Djamena.7 May 1936See Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations Egypt has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate-general in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Cairo.25 May 1949Both 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. Ethiopia has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate-general in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Addis Ababa.12 May 1969See Kenya–Saudi Arabia relations 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. Kenya has an embassy in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Nairobi. See Libya–Saudi Arabia relations Libya has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate-general in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Tripoli. See Morocco–Saudi Arabia relations Morocco has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate-general in Jeddah.