The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have reached a “near final set of arrangements” for a defense pact that includes a civil nuclear component.
US And Saudi Arabia Close To Defence And Civil Nuclear Deal
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have reached a “near final set of arrangements” for a defense pact that includes a civil nuclear component, but obstacles remain for a broader regional deal that would normalize relations between Israel and Riyadh, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official said the bilateral deal was “more or less complete,” but cautioned that certain elements, including a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood and steps on stabilizing war-torn Gaza, still needed to be completed.
The official briefed reporters following a Middle East visit by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S.-Saudi agreement is intended as part of a Middle East “grand bargain” to reshape the volatile region that President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to revive after it was derailed by Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel and the outbreak of war in Gaza.
The senior official said on Tuesday that the deal would include U.S. civilian nuclear cooperation for the Saudis structured by nonproliferation experts in a “rigorous way.”
U.S. and Saudi negotiators are seeking to complete an accord that would call for formal U.S. guarantees to defend the kingdom as well as Saudi access to more advanced U.S. weaponry, in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing’s investment in the country, people familiar with the matter have said.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a country in West Asia and the Middle East. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2150000 km², making it the fifth-largest country in Asia and the largest in the Middle East. Oil accounts on average in recent years for approximately 40% of Saudi GDP and 75% of fiscal revenue, with substantial fluctuations depending on oil prices each year. The kingdom has the second-largest proven petroleum reserves and the fourth-largest measured natural gas reserves. Saudi Arabia is currently the largest exporter of petroleum in the world.
In 2016, the Saudi government launched its Saudi Vision 2030 program to reduce its dependency on oil and diversify its economic resources. By 2022, Saudi Arabia had only modestly reduced its dependence on oil.
