Proposed Saudi-US security agreement will enhance the Kingdom’s capabilities
and strengthen sovereignty
Faisal Al-Shammeri
12 June 2024
Saudi Arabia is negotiating an important agreement with the Biden administrati
on to finalize an accord for the provision of a few US security guarantees for
the Kingdom. This will include a program of technical assistance to Saudi Ara
bia’s civilian nuclear power industry.
Yet the Saudi government is insisting that this agreement between Riyadh and W
ashington is not a prelude to a Saudi normalization with Israel as part of a g
randiose scheme to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy works to advance the causes and concerns of all
Arabs and Muslims. This agreement indicates that Saudi Arabia can articulate
a strong national interest to ensure its safety and prosperity. The Kingdom do
es not bargain with any other country over its ultimate goals.
Saudi Arabia has well-defined principles that affirm its national interests. T
herefore, Saudi Arabia strengthens its sovereignty and the duty of its governm
ent to protect its people by developing its national nuclear program and getti
ng the US on its side to take the necessary measures to prevent conflict and s
trife in the Gulf area in particular and in the Middle East region in general.
The current agreement, still to be completed, is the culmination of previous n
egotiations that the Kingdom has engaged in with several American administrati
ons, whether Republican or Democrat. The Agreement for Technical Cooperation b
etween the US and Saudi Arabia, signed in Jeddah on May 8, 2023, was the most
recent agreement between the two nations to enhance their security cooperation
.
The very first security accord between Saudi Arabia and the US was signed in t
he year 2008 to assist Saudi Arabia in channeling its efforts to protect the c
ritical infrastructure base it has, and to safeguard the Saudi public from ter
rorist threats and attacks. Ever since that date, the content of subsequent se
curity agreements between Saudi Arabia and America has been adapting many chan
ges and modifications to counter the growing threats to which the Kingdom has
been subjected. The initial success of that program is witnessed by the high-q
uality training many Saudi security and defense personnel have received to hel
p them address the security requirements in the diverse and sophisticated 21st
-century Saudi state and economy.
The overwhelming asset of Saudi Arabia’s grand strategy is its power to act a
nd implement good policies in world politics faithfully and effectively.
The new security agreement when it is fully agreed upon and sanctioned is also
an extension of previous security relations between Saudi Arabia and the US.
Saudi Arabia is the US's biggest foreign military sales market, with a figure
exceeding $100 billion in active FMS deals. Moreover, bilateral trade and econ
omic ties have reached an unprecedented high.
The US is Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner, and Saudi Arabia is
one of the US’s biggest trading partners in the Middle East. The Kingdom is t
he third source of imported oil for the US. America imports about half a milli
on barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia. This economic cooperation has bee
n in place for over 20 years. In 2003, the US signed a Trade and Investment Fr
amework Agreement with Saudi Arabia. TIFA serves as an umbrella agreement for
ongoing structured dialogue between the US government and other international
partners on economic reform and trade liberalization, aligning with Saudi Arab
ia’s Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia’s unique role and distinguished status in the Arab and Islamic w
orlds contribute to the security and stability of all the world’s countries.
Many terrorist networks target the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has the right to defe
nd itself. All the security agreements that the Saudi government has signed sa
feguard life and the societies of so many nations. Hence, additional cooperati
on between Saudi Arabia and the US solicits institutional arrangements between
the two nations to promote global and regional peace. Continuously, Washingto
n and Riyadh have had frequent consultations over a wide range of political an
d diplomatic topics.
Regrettably, the Biden administration tried to ignore the vital and pivotal ro
le of the Kingdom, but it failed miserably to isolate Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arab
ia dictated its own political will on Washington. Immediately, Washington’s p
olitical establishment recognized their mistake — that it is impossible to ne
gate the critical importance of Saudi Arabia.
The premise of this special agreement is peace in the Middle East. In this reg
ard, Saudi Arabia has a strategy linking and analyzing all the major elements
of regional conflict and cooperation. This includes how to help the Palestinia
ns and protect them, and it strives to establish a fully sovereign Palestinian
state. This agreement will pressure America to stop the war in Gaza.
Generally speaking, the Saudi people have faith in how their government initia
tes international cooperation. They applaud how the leadership of Saudi Arabia
prioritizes policies that require engaging with global partners, and at the s
ame time pursues the collaboration of all the countries in the world to give j
ustice to the Palestinians. The overwhelming asset of Saudi Arabia’s grand st
rategy is its power to act and implement good policies in world politics faith
fully and effectively.
https://pse.is/63dqbj
以下是chatGPT翻译
沙特阿拉伯正在与拜登政府谈判一项重要协议，该协议将最终确定美国对沙乌地提供的
一些安全保证。这将包括向沙特阿拉伯的民用核电产业提供技术援助计划。然而，沙乌
地政府坚称，这项协议并非利雅得与华盛顿之间的一个前奏，意图将沙乌地正常化与以色
列的关系，作为结束阿以冲突的宏大计划的一部分。
沙特阿拉伯的外交政策致力于推动所有阿拉伯人和穆斯林的事业和关注点。这项协议表
明，沙特阿拉伯可以明确其强大的国家利益，以确保其安全和繁荣。沙特阿拉伯不会
在其最终目标上与任何其他国家讨价还价。
沙特阿拉伯有明确的原则来确认其国家利益。因此，沙特阿拉伯通过发展其国家核计
划并让美国站在其一边来采取必要措施，防止海湾地区特别是中东地区的冲突和动乱，从
而加强其主权和政府保护人民的责任。
目前尚未完成的协议是沙特阿拉伯与几届美国政府进行谈判的成果，无论是共和党还是
民主党。2023年5月8日在吉达签署的《美沙技术合作协议》是两国之间最近的一项协议，
以加强其安全合作。
沙特阿拉伯与美国的首个安全协议于2008年签署，旨在帮助沙特阿拉伯集中精力保护
其关键基础设施，并保护沙乌地公众免受恐怖威胁和攻击。自那时以来，沙特阿拉伯和
美国之间后续安全协议的内容随着沙乌地面临的日益增长的威胁进行了多次变更和修改。
该计划的初步成功体现在许多沙乌地安全和防御人员接受的高质量培训，这帮助他们应对
21世纪多样化和先进的沙乌地国家和经济的安全需求。
沙特阿拉伯大战略的压倒性优势在于其在世界政治中忠实有效地行动和实施良好政策的
能力。
当新安全协议完全达成并批准时，它也是沙特阿拉伯与美国之间之前安全关系的延伸。
沙特阿拉伯是美国最大的外国军售市场，活跃的军售交易额超过1000亿美元。此外，双
边贸易和经济联系也达到了前所未有的高峰。
美国是沙特阿拉伯的第二大贸易伙伴，而沙特阿拉伯是美国在中东最大的贸易伙伴之
一。沙特阿拉伯是美国第三大石油进口来源国，美国每天从沙特阿拉伯进口约50万桶
石油。这种经济合作已经持续了20多年。2003年，美国与沙特阿拉伯签署了《贸易和投
资框架协议》。该协议作为一个框架协议，用于美国政府与其他国际合作伙伴之间就经济
改革和贸易自由化进行的持续结构性对话，这与沙特阿拉伯的2030愿景计划相一致。
沙特阿拉伯在阿拉伯和伊斯兰世界中的独特角色和卓越地位有助于所有国家的安全与稳
定。许多恐怖组织以沙特阿拉伯为目标。沙特阿拉伯有权自卫。所有沙乌地政府签署
的安全协议都是为了保护许多国家的生命和社会。因此，沙特阿拉伯与美国之间的进一
步合作需要两国之间的制度安排，以促进全球和地区的和平。华盛顿和利雅得一直就广泛
的政治和外交话题进行频繁磋商。
遗憾的是，拜登政府曾试图忽视沙特阿拉伯的重要和关键角色，但在孤立沙特阿拉伯
的努力上惨败。沙特阿拉伯向华盛顿展示了其自身的政治意志。很快，华盛顿的政治机
构认识到他们的错误——即不可能否认沙特阿拉伯的重要性。
这项特殊协议的前提是中东的和平。在这方面，沙特阿拉伯有一个战略，将地区冲突和
合作的主要要素联系和分析在一起。这包括如何帮助和保护巴勒斯坦人，并努力建立一个
完全主权的巴勒斯坦国家。该协议将施压美国停止加沙的战争。
总的来说，沙乌地人民信任他们的政府如何启动国际合作。他们赞赏沙特阿拉伯的领导
层如何优先考虑与全球伙伴的合作政策，同时也追求世界上所有国家的合作，以为巴勒斯
坦人伸张正义。沙特阿拉伯大战略的压倒性优势在于其在世界政治中忠实有效地行动和
实施良好政策的能力。