A recent meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ended with a high level of agreement on potential joint initiatives, openness but also with “acknowledging where we have differences,” a senior US official told Reuters news agency.
This comment highlights the fact that the Saudi-US relationship has long ceased to be an unbreakable and taken-for-granted partnership.
“The relationship between the two countries has deteriorated, especially under the presidency of Joe Biden,” Stephan Roll, a Saudi Arabia researcher at the Berlin-based think tank German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), told DW.
Another reason may have been the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, allegedly orchestrated from Riyadh, which led to a low point in their relations.
According to Roll, ties to Western countries as a whole have deteriorated. “These are seen in Riyadh as arrogant, unreliable and demanding,” he told DW.
Rapprochement with China
The extent of the good relations between Saudi Arabia and China is also appreciated in Beijing, as was seen last December when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a three-day state visit to Riyadh. He wanted to usher in a “new era” between the two countries, Xi declared at the time.
This also involves economic interests. For example, investment agreements worth about $50 billion (€46 billion) were signed during the talks, according to comments made by Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih. Furthermore, the Kingdom will supply 690,000 barrels of oil a day to China and in turn, the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei is to set up the highly efficient 5G technology in the Kingdom.
These agreements highlight Saudi Arabia’s quest to modernize its economy economically and socially in order to make it fit for a stable and prosperous future without relying on oil wealth alone.
Easing tensions in the Gulf
China is moving swiftly to establish its new political role in the region. In April, the foreign ministers of the two previously hostile major powers in the region, Saudi Arabia and Iran, shook hands in Beijing under Chinese auspices. The danger of an armed escalation in the Persian Gulf thus appears to have been considerably reduced.
“In principle, both countries do have an interest in bilateral relations, but it is Saudi Arabia in particular that is keen on it,” Roll said. The rapprochement with Iran, he said, is indispensable in order to be able to settle the conflict in Yemen where the two adversaries are indirectly opposed to each other. “The end of the war is indispensable so that Saudi Arabia can make itself more attractive as a business and investment location and free up financial resources that were previously needed because of the war,” Roll said.
He also suggests that Riyadh is grateful to the Chinese for their mediation work. “The US, for example, would not have been able to do that,” Roll said, referring to the fact that the US and Iran do not maintain diplomatic contacts.
Historic handshake: A China-brokered deal has brought Middle East rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia closer together Image: Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP
Russia, war & oil
Riyadh has also been recalibrating its relations with Moscow, and is cooperating with Russia even at a time when Western countries have imposed sanctions over Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Following a recent meeting of the OPEC+ cartel, Saudi Arabia promised to start cutting its oil production by one million barrels per day from July. The kingdom appears to be tolerating the fact that Russia has not given any assurances that it, in turn, would also limit production levels. Since the beginning of its attack on Ukraine and the loss of exports to Europe, Russia has been in urgent need of exports to Asia, especially India and China, to finance the war.
Saudi Arabia agreed to cut its oil output while Russia maintains its level in dire need for money. Image: Igor Russak/dpa/picture alliance
Tapping into BRICS
Saudi Arabia is also seeking proximity to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the BRICS nations. During a meeting in Cape Town a few days ago, they discussed the admission of new members. Saudi Arabia is attractive to them not least as a potential investor in the BRICS’ New Development Bank.
Saudi Arabia’s possible accession could provide the country with a host of potential partnerships and stronger trade relations. At the same time, this bloc — already accounting for 30% of oil and 22% of gas consumption worldwide — would grow as a counterweight to the Western energy market.
Joining the BRICS countries could, however, also help Saudi Arabia become a key political player. If competition between the West and a possibly emerging Eastern power bloc around Russia and China were to intensify, Saudi Arabia would have good ties to both sides.
The BRICS countries have an interest in ties with Saudi Arabia and its potential investment in the joint BRICS bank. Image: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS/picture alliance
Venezuela to Israel
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s recent visit to Riyadh is another indication of Saudi Arabia’s policy of establishing good contacts with many sides and not allowing itself to be tied down to one partnership alone. By welcoming the authoritarian leader, Saudi Arabia demonstrated that it shapes its foreign policy according to its own criteria.
However, the fact that Saudi Arabia also wants to continue to cultivate its relations with the Western world is evident not least in its relationship with Israel. Even if the country, unlike some of its neighbors, has not yet officially normalized its relations with the Jewish state, it is committed to maintaining a good relationship — despite its recent rapprochement with Iran, which regards Israel as an arch-enemy.
Here, too, Riyadh is pursuing concrete interests. For example, with the help of the US, it would like to build a nuclear power plant that would supposedly serve exclusively civilian purposes — a request the US is unlikely to agree to without the fundamental consent of Israel, whose security interests could be affected.
In order to foster Israeli approval, Saudi Arabia appears to have focused on culture and education issues and has largely purged Saudi textbooks of anti-Israeli or anti-Jewish passages.
The UK-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), whose research includes the issue of anti-Semitic sentiment in textbooks around the world and particularly in Islamic-majority countries, said that Saudi Arabia had recently revised its teaching materials accordingly. “Problematic examples” with regard to Jews and Christians had been removed, IMPACT-se said.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
