Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah stressed on Sunday that the Kingdom and Gulf countries were working on building bridges between the east and west.
He cited the recent Riyadh-hosted summits that brought together the leaders of China and the United States as Saudi Arabia’s attempt to build these bridges with global partners.
Riyadh is prioritizing the affairs of developing countries on the global arena, he told the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi.
“We continue to build our partnerships in the global environment in a way that fosters the opportunities for growth and prosperity for all,” he stressed.
On the Chinese summits that were held in Saudi Arabia last week, the FM said they stem from efforts to increase cooperation with one of the greatest trade partners to the Kingdom and the Arab world.
Holding dialogue with the world’s second greatest economy is very important in continuing to build global partnerships that pave the way for prosperity and development for all parties, he added.
Saudi Arabia, said Prince Faisal, is the world’s 15th greatest economy and it is the world’s fastest growing economy.
The Kingdom aims to reach one trillion dollars in GDP. “With this growth, comes our increasing interest in the global economy,” he stated. “We want to tackle all the challenges we are facing.”
“We live in a complicated and difficult world. There will always be issues that need to be addressed but the best way to address them is through dialogue, interaction and cooperation and that’s our approach.”
“Our foreign policy is driven by our need to achieve sustainable prosperity for the Saudi people first and foremost and to the peoples of the region and world,” said Prince Faisal.
“My mandate from my leadership is very clear; Saudi Arabia's foreign policy is a tool for its domestic prosperity, that is the top priority.”
The FM predicted that Saudi Arabia will rise to become one of the world’s top ten economies by 2030, stressing the need to focus on building bridges of cooperation to achieve sustainable prosperity in the region and world.
Ties with Russia, Ukraine
Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia’s ties with Russia are strong and that both parties were seeking to develop them and work closely, especially in OPEC.
The relationship has reaped benefits in the energy and oil markets, he continued.
“There is no doubt that the conflict with Ukraine is among the international community’s most pressing concerns. We have previously said that our priority is dialogue and speaking with Russia,” he remarked.
“We still consider ourselves mediators and we can approach them as we enjoy good relations with them,” he added, citing a prisoner swap between Kyiv and Moscow that was mediated by Riyadh.
“We can build on these relations to help develop dialogue. We will continue to sponsor dialogue between Russia and Ukraine,” Prince Faisal said.
At the end of the day, this conflict can only be resolved through dialogue and “we must focus on that,” he urged.
Strategic dialogue
On relations with the US, Prince Faisal said: “The US is playing an important role and will continue to play an important role in the region, especially from a security perspective.”
Dialogue is ongoing with Saudi Arabia’s partners in the US, he went on to say.
“We need real strategic dialogue and this is happening on a bilateral level and on the Gulf-US level,” he added.
Prince Faisal said ties between Saudi Arabia and the US are very strong and have been so with all administrations, Democrat and Republican alike.
Nuclear deal
On Iran, he noted that its development of nuclear weapons would force regional countries to seek to ensure their own security.
“If Iran gets an operational nuclear weapon, all bets are off,” he added.
“We are in a very dangerous space in the region...you can expect that regional states will certainly look towards how they can ensure their own security.”
The nuclear talks have stalled with Western powers accusing Iran of raising unreasonable demands, and focus shifting to the Russia-Ukraine war as well as domestic unrest in Iran over the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Though Riyadh remained “skeptical” about the Iran nuclear deal, Prince Faisal said it supported efforts to revive the pact "on condition that it be a starting point, not an end point" for a stronger deal with Tehran.
“The signs right now are not very positive unfortunately,” he remarked.
“We hear from the Iranians that they have no interest in a nuclear weapons program, it would be very comforting to be able to believe that. We need more assurance on that level.”
