Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia

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Politics of Saudi Arabia
Member State of the Arab League
Basic Law
Monarchy King and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Salman Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Deputy crown prince Vacant Allegiance Council Succession
Government Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Council of Ministers Consultative Assembly President: Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al ash-Sheikh National Security Council
Legal system The Quran The Hadith Judiciary Capital punishment Freedom of religion Human rights Women's rights LGBT rights Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
Recent elections Municipal: 2005 2011 2015
Administrative divisions Regions Governorates
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister of Foreign Affairs: Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Minister of State for Foreign Affairs: Adel al-Jubeir Diplomatic missions of / in Saudi Arabia Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Saudi Arabia portal Other countries
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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.^[1] 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.^[2][3][4]

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]

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.^[19]