What is all this active Saudi diplomacy for?

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan tweeted recently: “We welcome the presence of representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in the city of Jeddah, to engage in dialogue that we hope will lead to the end of the conflict and the return of security and stability to the Republic of Sudan.”

Prince Faisal followed with another tweet stating: “This dialogue comes as a result of international collaboration and vigorous efforts of the Kingdom with the United States of America and in partnership with the Quartet countries and partners from the tripartite mechanism.”

The Saudi efforts to draw closer the two parties to the conflict in Sudan is part of the nation’s active foreign diplomacy framework. This has been working for several months on enabling communication and dialogue between the regional actors. It has also aided in coordinating political, security and economic discussions to ease, not only the recent tensions in Sudan, but also tensions in Yemen and Syria, as well as to deescalate the pressured relationships with Iraq and, recently, Iran.

The aforementioned indicates that the Kingdom seeks to use its foreign policy as a stabilization tool in the Middle East, given that the post-2011 conflicts and turmoil drained the region’s wealth, transforming it into a land for fundamentalist organizations to step in including Daesh and Al-Qaeda, as well as armed militias in Syria and Iraq. Furthermore, social peace has also been affected as a result of harsh sectarian and ethnic rhetoric.

The meeting held in Jeddah between the two parties to the armed conflict in Sudan was preceded by a massive evacuation process conducted by the Kingdom. According to a statement issued by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on May 8, a total of 8,498 individuals were evacuated, including 278 Saudis and 8,220 people of 110 other countries.

The Iranian citizens who were included in the evacuation plan were warmly welcomed in Jeddah and flew to Iran on a civilian aircraft. This humanitarian endeavor does not conceal the positive political and security missions underway, but indicates the continuous improvement in the Riyadh-Tehran relationship, which will soon see the mutual opening of embassies.

The Saudi efforts to draw closer the two parties to the conflict in Sudan is part of the nation’s active foreign diplomacy framework.

Syria’s President Bashar Al-Asad was in Damascus on April 18 and met with an exceptional guest, the Saudi foreign minister, whose last visit was 12 years ago.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Syrian presidency stated there had been discussions on “relations between both countries, along with other Arab and international political issues. The bilateral cooperation between Syria and the Kingdom was taken into consideration as to serve the interest of both countries and their people.”

Earlier in April, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber, was part of a delegation to Sana’a, Yemen, where he met with a representative of the Houthis to outline the Kingdom’s efforts at reaching amicable and clear solutions to end the war.

Al-Jaber stated via Twitter: “Continuing the Kingdom’s efforts to end the Yemeni crisis, and in support of the Saudi Initiative of 2021 to reach a comprehensive political solution in Yemen, I visit Sana’a along with a delegation from the brotherly Sultanate of Oman to stabilize the truce and ceasefire, support the prisoner exchange process and explore venues of dialogue between Yemeni components to reach a sustainable, comprehensive political solution in Yemen.”

The visit attracted considerable international media attention, which was followed by the exchange of prisoners. According to the Saudi Press Agency, spokesperson for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen Brig. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki stated that 19 prisoners from the coalition forces arrived at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, April 15. This group consisted of 16 Saudi and three Sudanese prisoners, in exchange for the release of 250 Houthi prisoners who left Abha International Airport for Sana’a.

Beyond these regional initiatives, back in March the Saudi Council of Ministers approved a resolution to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in which the Kingdom can act as a dialogue partner. This could be the first step for the Kingdom to become a fully-fledged member state in the organization, which includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and the former Soviet Union countries in Central Asia. The organization also includes Iran, which acquired its full membership last year. Being a member of this organization with such great economic weight, would allow the Kingdom to diversify its network of economic interests and external political, security and military alliances. As such, its options will be unlimited, and it will not find itself forced to take any position that does not align with its national interests.

These are examples of the holistic nature of Saudi Arabia’s foreign diplomatic and political activity, which will allow the Kingdom to navigate the changes resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war, and the economic conflict between China and the US. In addition, it will advance Riyadh’s desire to become a capital with greater influence at regional and international levels, not only by being one of the major oil-producing countries in OPEC+, but also by being able to set its own policies while avoiding conflict with the US and weathering the complexities of international alignments. As the Kingdom continues to build and develop good relations with China and Russia, it is rearranging its relations with America in a more understanding and cooperative manner.

It should be noted that Washington acknowledges that it cannot abandon Riyadh, given that the latter is a partner that has proven its credibility in fighting terrorism and helping the US, as well as its allies, in facing Middle Eastern crises — without that being at the expense of Saudi interests, which has always been a top priority.

• Hassan Al-Mustafa is a Saudi writer and researcher interested in Islamic movements, the development of religious discourse and the relationship between the GCC states and Iran. Twitter: @Halmustafa