Abdullah ALOTAIBI

When people ask about Saudi Arabia, the first thing they cite is oil. This exclusive equation of Saudi Arabia and oil is mistaken. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a major Middle East Power that plays a significant role on the international arena, a role that does not emanate solely from its oil reserves. To complement the two other essays in this issue, it is the purpose of this essay to elucidate the major role played by Saudi Arabia internationally, and the positive impact Saudi Arabia has on international issues. Politically, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the founding and signatory states of the UN Charter and a major contributor to its various agencies and organizations, it is the founding country of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, founder of the International Center for Combating Terrorism, founder of King Abdullah International Center for Religious and Intercultural Dialogue, member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the G20, and the World Trade Organization. Regionally, it was a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Arab League, Muslim World League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Such an extensive engagement at the global level, accompanied by actual practices of fulfilling its international commitments and global responsibilities, has demonstrated the Kingdom’s willingness to multilateral solutions of international problems.
At the Islamic level, these two main organizations (The Muslim World League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation) are especially important venues for marshaling Saudi influence and significant role as the religious capital of the Islamic world. The cooperation within the Muslim group essentially seeks to enhance the security and prosperity of each member through the collective efforts of the entire community. And as with the Arab circle, Saudi leadership and aid are among the most important factors in maintaining the solidarity of the group and prosperity of each member. The multiple channels of solidarity among the three overlapping communities allow Saudi Arabia much more influence and flexibility in guiding the course of foreign relations among its allied nations. The diversity of the institutional interactions gives the Kingdom a great deal of agenda power, which ultimately translates into greater influence over domestic and foreign policies of the member states.
But the leadership of OPEC has also been important to manage yet another important sphere in the Kingdom’s foreign relations: its relations with the West. In this respect, this placed the Saudis between two conflicting objectives: to maintain the survival and viability of OPEC while keeping the price of oil at levels acceptable to Western consumer nations. Saudi Arabia can be said to have dealt fairly acutely in this rather precarious position. As Gause has noted, the Saudis have deftly followed a soft path of ”quite consensus building and deal making.”
In conclusion, Saudi Arabia is predicted to continue playing a dominant role on the global oil market. The Kingdom will also continue its efforts to ensure long term price and production sustainability. At the same time, it will go on with its investments in the oil and gas sectors to ensure adequate supplies and sustainable economic growth. Finally, Saudi Arabia’s oil policy will be defined in dialogue with other producers and consumers in order to address together the environmental, investment and price volatility challenges. Saudi Arabia plays a pivotal role in protecting the world’s economic health and it is a responsibility Saudi Arabia has faithfully and reliably executed over several decades.
In conclusion, being the leading oil producer, the leading Arab country, and being the revered center of the Muslim World, have all endowed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with unprecedented responsibilities and a burden it did not hesitate to shoulder. Throughout its history, the Kingdom has demonstrated a great sense of responsibility and a strong commitment towards all these circles; hence substantially contributing to the wellbeing of the world. It has shown a great deal of commitment to multilateral mechanisms in addressing global issues, has always been in the forefront in dealing with pressing issues of the world.