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Saudi-U.S. relations: A future of steady growth
This special relationship dates to the early 1900s, when King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud, the founder of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was impressed by President Woodrow Wilson's call for the self-determination of nations. Over time, the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States has reflected President Wilson's ideals of independence, justice and peace.
"The U.S.-Saudi relationship encompasses many issues that are complementary: economics, foreign policy, commerce, regional defense, human resource development, and private sector relations," says John Duke Anthony, president of the Washington-based National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
Saudi-U.S. ties grew closer in the 1940s when King Abdulaziz and President Franklin D. Roosevelt began to exchange views on the world situation through diplomatic correspondence. Bilateral ties, which had been established in 1933, were formalized in 1942, when the U.S. government opened its first legation in Jeddah. Two years later, in 1944, the first Saudi Arabian legation was established in the United States.
On February 14, 1945, history was made when King Abdulaziz and President Roosevelt met on board the heavy cruiser USS Quincy in the Suez Canal. During their encounter, the two leaders discussed a number of issues, including the question of Palestine. King Abdulaziz stressed that a solution to the plight of Jews in Europe could not be achieved at the expense of the Arab inhabitants of Palestine. President Roosevelt displayed a farsighted view of the Palestinian problem, pledging that no decisions would be made regarding the matter without full consultation with Arab nations.
The first Saudi monarch to pay an official call on Washington was King Saud bin Abdulaziz. During his visit to the White House in January 1957, King Saud and President Dwight D. Eisenhower discovered they agreed on a number of foreign affairs issues, and both leaders decided it was important to develop and strengthen bilateral ties. In 1962, King Saud returned to Washington to meet with President John F. Kennedy.
In 1965, King Faisal bin Abdulaziz met with President Lyndon Johnson. Six years later, he conferred with President Richard Nixon. King Khalid bin Abdulaziz, who succeeded King Faisal in 1975, met with President Jimmy Carter in Washington.
Since his early twenties, King Fahd bin Adulaziz al Saud has helped Saudi Arabia formulate international relations policies. As King, his first meeting with a U.S. chief executive was with President Reagan in February 1985. The following year, King Fahd met with then-Vice President George Bush in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Five years later, talks between King Fahd and President Bush centered on efforts to reverse the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. The Washington meeting was important because Arab support for the U.S.-led military coalition assembled to counter the Iraqi invasion had grown shaky.
"Saddam Hussein had likened his incursion into Kuwait as a conflict between himself and `White Western Christians from Europe,'" says Anthony. "He was trying to convince the Arab world that he was engaged in a re-run of the Holy Crusades...But during meetings of the Arab League, the members were convinced by Saudi Arabia that this was a strategic error, and voted to mobilize forces to reverse...the invasion and to restore stability to Kuwait."
Emphasizing the "close historical relationship" existing between the two countries, King Fahd recently noted that Saudi Arabia and the United States have worked to bring about "peace and justice and to maintain security and stability in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, as well as growth and prosperity for mankind in an atmosphere of justice and supreme values."
Saudi-U.S. relations were further strengthened when King Fahd met with President Bill Clinton in Hafr Al-Batin on October 28, 1994. The two leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of interest to their nations. King Fahd later described the talks as "frank, successful and fruitful," and said the two sides held "identical" views on most issues discussed.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lived and worked in Saudi Arabia. Currently, more than 35,000 Americans work in Saudi Arabia in diverse fields. The largest American civilian school system abroad is in the Kingdom. Saudi universities and American academic institutions have established strong relations, pooling resources for research and development in many areas.
In the 1980s, 30,000 Saudis came to the United States each year for their college- and graduate-level education. Today, with the Kingdom's university system the rival of any in the world, this number is slightly over 3,000.
"Education was always the underpinning of our relationship," says Wyche Fowler, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. "Saudis educated in the United States often returned home with an admiration for our country and its culture...I'd like to see this (education program) reestablished and enhanced."
Trade has also helped cement relations between the two countries: America has been Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner for the last 50 years. In turn, the Kingdom purchases goods and services from every American state. And, over the past ten years, American firms have established joint-venture companies with Saudi businesses. Currently, there are 209 Saudi-U.S. companies licensed as joint ventures in the Kingdom, with American companies investing 11.5 billion U.S. dollars in these operations.
Thousands of miles separate Saudi Arabia and the United States, but the two countries are joined by a history of mutual respect, common interests and shared principles. "The United States and Saudi Arabia have long enjoyed close relations," President Bill Clinton said in 1994. "The close economic ties complement the important political and strategic relationship that we have and that we value greatly with Saudi Arabia."
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Table of Contents Crown Prince Abdullah: A leader with a global vision |
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For more than 60 years, Saudi Arabia and the United States have enjoyed a strong relationship based upon mutual respect and common interests. When welcoming King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to Washington D.C. for his first official state visit in 1985, President Ronald Reagan said, "the friendship and cooperation between our governments and peoples are precious jewels whose value we should never underestimate." The link that began in the 1930s has developed into an all-encompassing relationship that today spans the fields of politics, economics, education, and technology.