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| 2003 Archives – Saudi Arabia |
Saudi oil giant mulls expansion upstream and downstream
Saudi Aramco is devising a new corporate strategy, now IOCs have been sidelined by the core ventures’ demise. This could mean a return to oil exploration, but in the post-gas initiatives world, refining is king.
Issue 724, 12 December 2003. more
Investment banks line up
HSBC is set to follow Deutsche Bank in applying for a licence to carry out investment banking operations in Saudi Arabia, in a further sign of the progress in opening up the banking sector.
The London-headquartered bank and its Saudi British Bank affiliate are to establish a joint venture investment bank in the Kingdom, David Gore-Booth, adviser to the chairman of HSBC and a former British ambassador to Riyadh, told a MEED conference in London.
Issue 724, 12 December 2003. more
Exiles and Al-Sauds seek to outflank Saudi jihadis
Al-Sauds and their critics have been edging towards political reforms and a new social compact, but exiled opponents want more. They want to outflank the Jihadi insurgency with a peaceful protest movement.
Issue 722, 14 November 2003. more
New Riyadh bombings underline the extent of the crisis
The ferocious and ruthless nature of the latest attack in Riyadh, the 8 November bombing of the Al-Muhaya housing complex, in the Irqah valley – where there are palaces belonging to Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz and other members of the royal family – showed that Jihadi militants are still a major threat.
Issue 722, 14 November 2003. more
Facing extremists, Saudi Arabia seeks middle ground
The announcement of local elections in Saudi Arabia (GSN 720/6) marks a break with past strategy for the Kingdom, and signals a new attempt by the country to position itself as a more moderate presence in the Middle East and Gulf region. But coming as it does in the midst of a spate of new terrorist threats and crackdowns, the move has perhaps not engendered the kind of plaudits and sympathy the Al-Sauds would have liked.
Issue 721, 31 October 2003. more
Elections to launch new Saudi social contract while Riyadh battles the politics of suspicion
The first elections ever planned in Saudi Arabia mark an important step on the long road of reform but the Kingdom has much to do to persuade international opinion that political reform is for real.
Issue 720, 17 October 2003. more
Under-pressure, BAe set for Al-Yamamah expansion
Though the massive contract continues to draw unfavourable (and often inconclusive) press scrutiny in the UK, the Al-Yamamah defence offset agreement signed in 1985 seems set for another expansion in coming months. This would add to the Saudi defence budget, boost projections for BAe Systems’ earnings in 2005-06 and reassure those who fear that enduring Saudi/Western relationships may be near an end.
Issue 720, 17 October 2003. more
Al-Sauds defend against terrorism charges with strong counter-terrorism offence
The second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was guaranteed to draw yet more attention to the issue of Saudi-US relations, but contrary to most expectations, the House of Saud maintained a somewhat indignant tone throughout the anniversary period. Saudi Aramco is loading large amounts of crude for delivery to US buyers, but otherwise these are very difficult times for the Saudi-American relationship.
Issue 718, 19 September 2003. more
Riyadh hits investors with discouraging edict
On the heels of a new capital markets law that should ease the process of investing in the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia has placed a new roadblock in the path of foreign investors. In July, GSN has learned, the Ministry of Commerce, under a directive of the Ministry of Interior, issued a new regulation requiring that any foreign entity seeking to open a new branch or LLC in the Kingdom must appoint as general manager either a Saudi national or an expatriate who already holds Saudi residency.
Issue 717, 5 September 2003. more
Saudi dialogue brings many voices to bear on reform
Though tangible results are as yet hard to discern, the reform programme being pushed by Crown Prince Abdallah Bin Abdelaziz gathered momentum in Riyadh with a mid-June “national dialogue” attended by representatives of a broad spectrum of Saudi opinion.For the first time, clerics and intellectuals espousing various shades of the official Wahhabi strand of Islam met formally to debate with representatives of the minority Shia and Ismaili communities, as well as liberals and technocrats.
Issue 713, 27 June 2003.
more
Saudis could accept Roadmap compromise
Saudi Arabia is expected to throw real weight behind the “Roadmap” plan for Middle Eastern peace over coming months – but very much in a behind-the-scenes role, pressuring Arab radicals into line, rather than holding centre stage.
Despite their own highly public assertion of the importance of Jerusalem – an issue for which the Roadmap provides no pre-set answer – those close to the government believe Riyadh is “essentially sanguine” about the new US-led peace strategy.
Issue 712, 13 June 2003. more
Mixed signals from Shell-shocked Saudi Arabia
The temporary closure of the US, UK, German and other diplomatic missions after the 12 May Riyadh suicide bombings, which left 34 dead and undermined the Saudi government’s claims to be coping with the ultra-radical Islamist underground, was a blow to Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz (GSN 710/3). The Interior Minister has pressed his political ambitions by blending a hard line on opposition with the promotion of Islamist policies that might undercut the anti-Saud opposition.
Issue 711, 30 May 2003. more
Saudi bombings fallout could signal a tectonic shift in regional political, strategic thinking
The 12 May attacks on three Western compounds in Riyadh were the Saudi equivalent of 9/11, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said. The process of combating such terrorism would bring the two countries closer together, a shaken Prince Saud suggested.
Issue 710, 16 May 2003. more
Saudi Shia want reform, fear Wahhabi backlash
With Shia politicians flexing their muscles in Iraq, Saudi Shiites campaigning for democracy fear Riyadh will respond with concessions but with a fresh security crackdown. The tone has been set by Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz, one of the architects of continued repression of Shia and other minorities, who told a recent meeting of newspaper editors: “Don’t forget, we are a Salafi state, whether you like it or not.”
Issue 709, 2 May 2003. more
Basing restrictions channel coalition ‘Like toothpaste through a tube’ towards Baghdad
The Iraqi conflict, intensely unpopular in the region, has seen key US allies such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Jordan place the requirements of their own domestic constituencies above those of the US military. The result will be a longer and more costly war for the US in terms of blood and treasure.
Issue 707, 4 April 2003. more
Pre-war Saudi Arabia puts reforms in reserve
War in Iraq will add to pressures on Saudi Arabia, which for all its careful positioning finds itself in the front line with US forces now authorised to use Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh and Special Forces operating along the Iraqi border. In this tense situation, Saudis are asking whether the new Iraq crisis will act as a spur for reforms in the Kingdom?
Issue 706, 21 March 2003. more
Sniping by Saudi princes inveigles Lebanon’s warring billionaires
Saudi Arabia’s grip on the Lebanese public imagination grows ever tighter. Riyadh’s $700m lifeline to cash-strapped Beirut, extended in November at the Paris II meeting of donors convened by France’s President Jacques Chirac, has opened up new channels of influence for the Kingdom in a country where it has traditionally exerted a strong behind-the-scenes presence.
Issue 705, 7 March 2003. more
Al-Faisal largesse raises speculation among Saudi liberals
Some Saudi reformists are looking to Crown Prince Abdallah’s allies in the ruling Al-Saud dynasty’s Al-Faisal wing as a potential line of succession to the throne. In what would prove a major upset in Al-Saud family politics, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal or perhaps his half- brother Khalid Al-Faisal are identified by some well-connected Gulf liberals as potential candidates to become Crown Prince once CPA accedes to the throne.
Issue 702, 24 January 2003. more
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| 2002 and earlier Archives – Saudi Arabia |
US/Saudi relations face trial by media leak
Under just how much pressure is the House of Saud? The much-publicised linkage in the West between royal family members and Islamist ultra-radicals, the inflow of defeated Al-Qaeda supporters and sympathisers from Afghanistan, and suggestions of new political and financial strains on the Saudi leadership—despite this year’s oil price windfall—all point to a Kingdom under pressure.
Issue 699, 5 December 2002. more
Angry Saudis cool to Doha in December
Doha in December is not a diary date that Crown Prince Abdallah Bin Abdelaziz is looking forward to, given the depth of Saudi displeasure with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. The promotion of Al-Udeid, near Doha, as a major U.S. strategic base has rubbed salt into the painful grazes already left on the Saudi leadership’s amour propre by the irreverently free spoken broadcasts of Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel, which Sheikh Hamad shows no inclination to curb.
Issue 695, 9 October 2002. more
Saudi Islamists make running in the opposition
Saudi Ambassador to London Ghazi Alghosaibi, summoned home to a new career as Water Minister, finds himself returning to a curious political climate. The moderately reformist agenda of liberals has inched forward under the tutelage of Crown Prince Abdallah Bin Abdelaziz. But the great unknown is the extent of active support for Islamist critics, who mostly take a cautious line at home but have a vocal media presence in exile abroad.
Issue 694, 27 September 2002. more
CPA’s regional policy and Al-Saud internal politics
Crown Prince Abdallah Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud’s central role in developing momentum behind Gulf Co-operation Council integration and the evolving GCC economic strategy reflects his control of the relevant areas of Saudi policy-making . This is reflected in key elements of what GSN has called the “CPA Project”, including a longtime determination to improve relations with other Arab countries and Iran as a counterweight to U.S. influence (GSN 659/5).
Issue 689, 26 June 2002. more
Saudi custody battle highlights tribal power, Shia antagonism
The Saudi authorities are under pressure to explain how a woman and her son born in Bahrain could find themselves trapped in a remote northern community, separated from her husband, in a custody dispute that highlights the powerful sway still wielded by tribal institutions in parts of the Kingdom and their antagonistic attitudes towards Shiites.
Isssue 687, 29 May 2002. more
Mutawa in question
The dormitory fire at Intermediate Girls’ School No. 31 in Mecca in which 14 Saudi girls died and 52 were injured, apparently because religious police would not permit firemen to rescue them, has brought into the public questioning of the powers of the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (known as the Mutawa).
Issue 682, 20 March 2002. more
US covers all bases in search for airfield deployment options
The cooling of Saudi/US. relations has many implications for U.S. regional strategy, none more so than the possible loss of access to the region’s most advanced and best positioned airfields. This could prompt Washington to further reconsider its regional relationships, even with such pariahs as Iran and Yemen—although there are clear limits to this policy.
Issue 678, 23 January 2002.more
Riyadh wrestles with revenue/expenditure imbalances
The doomsayers are out in force, predicting very tough times for Saudi Arabia. The 11 September crisis and subsequent decline in oil prices have provoked an avalanche of gloomy economic forecasts and warnings of political upheaval. The 8 December announcement of a reduced budget for 2002 confirmed perceptions of a Kingdom in serious financial trouble.
Issue 677, 9 January 2002. more
Saudi Front Divided In The War On Terrorism
Saudi Arabia’s rulers and some other Gulf Co-operation Council leaders are caught between a rock and a hard place. Their economies, business and defence relationships force them to look west. But on the street, many of their subjects are looking east towards Osama Bin Laden, a traditional Islamist dissident—preaching his own version of religious purity to his warriors from the isolation of a desert cave—who is using very modern means of warfare.
Issue 672, 17 October 2001. more
Continued questions over intelligence chief
The surprise departure of veteran head of Saudi General Intelligence Prince Turki Al-Faisal Bin Abdelaziz on 31 August continues to generate huge speculation among Saudi watchers. Prince Turki was officially said to have asked to stand down (GSN 669/7). He was succeeded by the older Prince Nawaf Bin Abdelaziz only four months after King Fahd had issued a Royal Decree reconfirming him in the post for four more years.
Issue 670, 19 September 2001. more
Religious minorities under pressure
The Saudi Arabian authorities appear to be tightening the screw on religious minorities, targeting not only Shia groups in the Eastern Province that have long been viewed with mistrust but also the ancient Ismaili community in Najran and other groups. The crackdown on Shia leaders sits oddly with the government’s recent rapprochement with Iran, but is consistent with past policy.
Issue 665, 9 July 2001 more
Also see Issue 709, 2 May 2003: Saudi Shia Want Reform, Fear Wahhabi Backlash
Khobar bombers haunt regional relations
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Louis Freeh leaves the FBI at the end of June, just as the case in which he has invested most personal energy enters a new phase. Clinton-appointee Freeh’s determined efforts to bring the 1996 Khobar Towers bombers to trial are finally set to bear fruit, with federal prosecutors issuing Grand Jury indictments against 13 Saudi militants and one Lebanese chemist (who allegedly built the bomb) on 21 June.
Issue 664, 25 June 2001. more
Saudi Arabia’s Iranian agreement a success for Crown Prince Abdullah’s “Vision”
The ground-breaking security agreement with Iran, expected to be signed during an official visit to the Islamic Republic on 15 April by Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz, underlines the Saudi leadership’s efforts to fashion a new strategic balance in the Gulf.
Issue 659/5, 16 April 2001. more
Bombing whodunnit poses testing questions
Many questions remain to be answered about the strange case of three Westerners who publicly confessed to bombings that targeted U.K. subjects in the kingdom last November. The worry for the governments involved—led by the Saudi leadership—is that this story will run and run, posing questions about how Western and Gulf states order their international relations. Saudi analysts believe the affair has the potential to severely embarrass the local authorities, as many Saudis now believe that behind every errant foreigner is a corrupted prince with powerful allies in high places.
Issue 655, 19 February 2001. more
Balancing the books and pleasing the masses
For the first time in nearly two decades Saudi Arabia’s budget was in surplus last year. The budget is expected to be balanced in 2001, thanks to the oil price boom. Riyadh’s balanced budget and higher spending plans for 2001—announced in late December—show some of the leadership’s determination to initiate reform across the board although inevitably not everyone is happy.
Issue 652, 8 January 2001. more
Conservatives turn liberal to ensure stability
For long considered a traditionalist and for three decades a safe pair of hands at the head of the National Guard, Crown Prince Abdullah is not naturally a liberal driven by free market ideology. But the kingdom’s de facto chief executive has taken with relish to his bigger role, and in reassessing the majority of his compatriots’ lot has grasped the fact that Saudi Arabia must generate sufficient wealth and jobs to meet the demands of its fast-growing young population.
Issue 644, 11 September 2000. more
Alarms and incursions
The fragile stability of the Gullf Arab states was rocked by the armed clash which took place at the end of last month between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In an incident on their common but disputed border three people were killed and, instantly, a major political crisis was created between the two members of the GCC six-country grouping.
Issue 447, 12 October 1992.Download the PDF
Defence decisions – Al Yamamah
The news of Saudi Arabia's $4bn arms deal with Britain, under which the Kingdom is to buy 72 high performance Tornado stike aircraft and 30 Hawk jet training planes, together with missiles, radar, spares and supporting equipment, has been received with low-key equanimity in Washington, made the subject of only modest rejoicing in London, and given the most meagre coverage in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia Newsletter, Issue 156, September 1985.Download the PDF
After King Khaled
The seven year reign of King Khaled ended on 13 June with his death from a heart attack, in Taif. Khaled ascended to the throne in 1975 on the death of his assassinated brother Faisal. At the time, his accession was thought to be a somewhat reluctant one. His half brother Fahd seemed to be the most suitable candidate for the throne with his keen interest in politics, development and world affairs. However, the preference given to Khaled reflected a respect for tradition.
Saudi Arabia Newsletter, Issue 74, 21 June - 4 July 1982.Download the PDF
Fuss over a film is salutary warning to others
Much heat has been engendered in Saudi Arabia about the British television film 'Death of a Princess'. It is a useful warning to other countries about where Saudi susceptibilities begin and end. With luck the British do not have too much to fear about future trade relations. The Saudis have been tactful so far, and their protests are chiefly for consumption at home.
Saudi Arabia Newsletter, Issue 23, 5-18 May 1980.Download the PDF
Yemeni tribes, Shiite rioters and an advisory council
The Saudi royal family's political preoccupations are as much external as domestic. The great efforts made to stop North Yemen effecting a rapprochemont with Aden reflect concern about the ultimate political allegiance of tribesmen on the borders. At home, a consultative council has now been definitely promised, but its importance will probably be more formal than real.
Saudi Arabia Newsletter, Issue 20, 24 March - 6 April 1980.Download the PDF
American officers move in at the top
The United States is edging Saudi Arabia into a closer if very discreet form of military collaboration which will reassure Saudi apprehensions while avoiding any obvious or overt ties which the Saudis would find highly embarrassing. No formal agrement has been concluded, but the discussions are currently taking place about deeper US involvement in Saudi defence strategy in the 1980s.
Saudi Arabia Newsletter, Issue 3, 16 July 1979.Download the PDF
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