Last February, Russia and Saudi Arabia celebrated the 98th anniversary of their bilateral relations. In 1926, the Soviet Union established the first full diplomatic relations with the First Hejaz and Najd Empires.
Most recently, President Vladimir Putin consolidated his power for six years. Again Prince Mohammed bin Salman was appointed as Prime Minister by King Salman in 2022. The leadership of both of them seems to be stable in the coming days.
Saudi Arabia's relationship with modern Russia was established in 1992, but bilateral relations between the two countries reached a new level in 2017 under King Salman and Putin. The Saudi king's first visit to Moscow has been hailed by many as a historic visit.
The Guardian described it as 'a declaration of a shift in the global power structure'. More than 15 cooperation agreements worth several billion dollars were concluded during that visit. Of these, cooperation agreements in the military, oil and space sectors were notable.
At the time, Saudi Arabia wanted to buy the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. But the deal was not finalized in the end. Later, Saudi Arabia bought the American Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System for $15 billion. Saudi Arabia has now taken a comprehensive policy of developing relations with all the world's superpowers without taking 'risks'.
This defensive strategy of Saudi Arabia will not harm the development of positive relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Putin visited Saudi Arabia in 2019. It was Putin's first visit since 2007. The tour ended with an oil deal. In 2023, Putin visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Prior to his visit, the Russian media Bloomberg published an article titled 'Putin to visit Gulf to reap OPECplus deal'. This means that US efforts to isolate Moscow from Putin's visit to Saudi Arabia have failed.
Saudi Arabia has become crucial in diversifying Russia's economy under Western sanctions. Again, Saudi Arabia is making such agreements with Russia, which are helping to diversify their own initiatives. Saudi Arabia has joined BRICS. Along with China, Brazil, India and South Africa, Russia plays a very important role in BRICS. Saudi Arabia has prioritized economic benefits rather than political considerations in joining BRICS.
How much will the two countries benefit from such interaction? Considerations of economic gain have undoubtedly been the main driving force in Saudi Arabia-Russia relations. In the ongoing geopolitical context in which Moscow has to compete with Western powers, Riyadh sees Moscow as an integral partner in changing the landscape of the global energy sector.
As the West has canceled energy deals with Russia and imposed sanctions on Russia, this relationship with Saudi Arabia is crucial for Moscow to boost its own GDP.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia has adopted a new nationalist foreign policy, with the economy at the top of its own priorities. This policy has motivated Saudi Arabia to form a win-win alliance with Russia.
The OPEC+ agreements led by Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in October 2022 and in April and June 2023 have helped member countries raise revenues in the energy sector. The results of these agreements are particularly significant for Russia.
In January 2023, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that revenue from oil and gas would increase by 28 percent in 2022. Russia's power and energy sector is a key contributor to Russia's GDP growth (over 27 percent) in 2023. On the other hand, the GDP of Saudi Arabia increased by 874 billion dollars in 2021, 1.1 billion dollars in 2022 and 1.3 billion dollars in 2023.
Saudi Arabia has become crucial in diversifying Russia's economy under Western sanctions. Again, Saudi Arabia is making such agreements with Russia, which are helping to diversify their own initiatives. For example, agricultural exports from Russia to Saudi Arabia increased by 49 percent in 2022, valued at nearly $1 billion.
Saudi Arabia has joined BRICS. Along with China, Brazil, India and South Africa, Russia plays a very important role in BRICS. Saudi Arabia has prioritized economic benefits rather than political considerations in joining BRICS. Foreign Minister Yuvraj Faisal bin Farhan said that BRICS is a "profitable and important medium" as an area of economic cooperation.
Russian officials praised the position. In his annual address to parliament in February, Putin said, 'With the new additions of Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, BRICS countries will contribute 37 percent of global GDP by 2028.' At that time, the contribution of the G-7 countries to the GDP will fall below 28 percent.
Based on the foundation that the leaders of the two countries have built, there is a possibility of developing Saudi Arabia-Russia relations in the coming days. In addition to hard power, both countries can also benefit from the exchange of soft power. Russia may become more involved in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program to diversify its economy.
Besides, soft power like religion has started to work in the relationship between the two countries. One of the goals of Vision 2030 is to bring the Muslim world to the center stage of the world.
Establishing relations with Muslim-dominated regions of Russia is essential in achieving this goal. Last year, Russia launched a pilot project for Islamic banking and financial institutions, allowing Saudi Arabian banks to operate in the country.
Apart from this, sports can also be another tool of soft power. Cultural exchange can also become an important tool in this regard. Along with the economic agreement, these initiatives will help the political and cultural integration of the two countries.
Diana Galiva is an Academic Visitor at the University of Oxford
Taken from Arab News, abridged from English by Manoj Dey
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