Riyadh pivots foreign policy to focus on economics

Many questions are being asked about "the new Saudi foreign policy" after the departure of the late Prince Saud al-Faisal who served as foreign minister for four decades.

Saud al-Faisal was succeeded by the previous ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir, who became the new foreign minister on 29 April, 2015.

Predicting what might be next for Saudi foreign policy requires a study of the kingdom's newly appointed ambassadors, its use of military force in Yemen, and the recent Arab and international alliances that Saudi Arabia has made.

The new appointments on Wednesday came as a surprise to many analysts, at a time when the region is going through political and security unrest, to put it mildly.

Ambassadors with economics backgrounds have been chosen to represent Saudi Arabia in major Western countries - despite the instability in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the Western rapprochement following the Iran nuclear deal, and the Islamic State group's threat to the region.

The new ambassador to Washington, Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turkey, had served as the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.

He then became governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), responsible for promoting foreign and domestic investment. Later, he founded the Saudi-Italian Development Company. All these positions are purely centred on the economy.

The newly appointed Saudi ambassador to Germany, Awwad Saleh al-Awwad, was an adviser to the Prince of Riyadh - now more popularly known as King Salman - in 2010, and Deputy Governor for Investment Affairs at SAGIA.

The new ambassador to France is Khaled al-Angari, who was the minister of higher education for nearly a quarter of a century. Before that, he served as minister of municipal and rural affairs for two years until 1991.

Observers say these appointments reflect a priority given to money matters when it comes to Saudi Arabia's relations with major powers, particularly the US and Germany. Improving economic relations could be an introduction for a broader political and military cooperation.

Improving economic relations could be an introduction for a broader political and military cooperation

Others do not give the new appointments too much importance and say that the ambassadors do not have much influence on foreign policy - as the Royal Court makes the decisions and sometimes also supersedes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, with the falling prices of oil to unprecedented levels in a decade, it seems that Saudi Arabia wants to strengthen its economic cooperation with major powers to maintain a certain level of local economic well-being and address problems related to investment and job creation.

The kingdom is also trying to invest this economic presence politically.

Saudi Arabia has recently tried to boost its economic relationship with France, for example. The Saudi-French Business Opportunities Forum was held this month.

The forum was attended by Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who met with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Dalman. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, also held a press conference in which Jubeir underscored the similarity in the political perspectives of the two countries - at least regarding regional issues.

This direction can also be seen in the nature of foreign trips and policy meetings held by Mohammed bin Salman with the kingdom's international partners - even countries with which Riyadh has profound political disagreements, such as Russia.

The meetings between Saudi and Russian leaders tackled economic and military cooperation, despite differences over Moscow's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and direct Russian military intervention in Syria, which has compounded regional military and political calculations.

Washington has consistently downplayed Iranian expansion in the region

The Saudi foreign ministry is trying to balance Riyadh's desires to improve bilateral relations and develop trade relations with major powers, and pressure these states to reach political agreements with a view to counter Iranian influence in the region, fight IS and resolve the Syrian and Yemeni conflicts.

These four issues are the top priority for the kingdom. While there are no major differences between Saudi Arabia and France on these, it seems that differences with its strategic ally, the US, are well pronounced - although Washington has backed Saudi intervention in Yemen.

Washington has consistently downplayed Iranian expansion in the region, while pushing for internal political reforms in the Gulf, which Washington believes is the only way to preserve stability there.

Dr Mashari al-Naim, professor of political science at King Fahd University in Saudi Arabia's eastern region, believes the recent appointment of new Saudi ambassadors in major capitals is in line with recent shifts in Saudi foreign policy, based on capitalising on Riyadh's economic weight to enhance its political role.

Naim, in a phone conversation with al-Araby al-Jadeed, pointed out that it was normal for trade to be a foreign policy arm for any nation, with some defining diplomats as equivalent to economic representatives. However, he continued, what is different in Saudi foreign policy today is using trade to boost strategic the country's influence in the medium and long terms.

Saudi-Russian economic cooperation should be seen in this context, Naim argues. Despite the great political differences between the two countries, economic cooperation reflects a long-term strategic vision aimed at creating economic pressure groups to influence political cooperation with the kingdom in the future.

Naim cites the 21st Century US-Saudi strategic intiative as an example of this re-oriented approach.

There is a second important shift in Saudi policy, perhaps not seen since the 1991 Gulf War

The US private sector is linked to Saudi's through long-term contracts, as one of the most important features of this initiative designed to reformulate bilateral relations in the coming period.

There is a second important shift in Saudi policy, perhaps not seen since the 1991 Gulf War, namely, the use of military force to impose political facts on the ground.

The Saudi-led Arab military coalition in Yemen is a milestone in this regard. Jubeir's threat of using the military card in Syria to force Assad to step down and initiate transition in Damascus is also seen in this context, though Saudi military intervention in Syria remains unlikely.

However, Riyadh could step up support for the armed Syrian opposition, particularly in the wake of Russian military intervention meant to shore up Assad and improve his negotiating hand.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.