Saudi Arabia's foreign trade will benefit from the geopolitical situation in the region, predicted economic experts.
They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iran will be the greatest loser from the geopolitical scene given the recently re-imposed US economic sanctions.
Washington’s mounting disputes with a number of powers, including China and the European Union, will also favor the Kingdom.
Economic researcher Dr. Ahmed Jibril told Asharq Al-Awsat that Riyadh will reap the benefits of these developments, especially given its strategic alliance with Washington.
It finds itself in a position to execute a number of joint agreements with the US, he continued.
Saudi Arabia and the US struck during a landmark summit in Riyadh in 2017 deals worth 280 billion dollars.
Jibril predicted that Washington will seek to cement its comprehensive cooperation with Saudi Arabia that will ultimately benefit both countries.
Economist and professor at Jeddah University Dr. Salem Baajaja expected Saudi Arabia to flourish on the trade level, taking advantage of the tensions on the international scene.
The US, European Union, China, South Korea and Russia may eventually realize that they will need to increase their trade with the Kingdom, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Foreign trade is a key element in the Kingdom’s economy and it plays a major part in its development, he continued.
He stressed that the US sanctions on Iran will favor Saudi Arabia and its foreign trade, especially in regards to oil.
Saudi oil may represent a substitute to Iran’s when the November 4 US sanctions against Tehran’s oil exports take effect.
Economist Dr. Abdullah al-Maghlouth told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia is in a position to control its own fate in regards to foreign trade given its foreign policies that allow it to take advantage of geopolitical developments.
Many countries, he noted, revealed that they will turn to the Kingdom for their oil when the Iran sanctions kick in.
