Saudi Arabia

Question 1

What IGOs is Saudi Arabia a part of?

Answer 1

Large role in:
- UN
- WTO
- World Bank
- IMF
Founding member of:
- GCC
- Arab League
- Muslim World League

Question 2

How much does Saudi Arabia give in development aid?

Answer 2

• $1.5bn
• almost exclusively to Muslim countries
  
  • cements it’s significance in the Muslim world

Question 3

What is Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the Yemeni Civil War?

Answer 3

• Supporting government against Houthi rebels
• led GCC countries in providing hardware and troops to Yemeni government
• has helped implement a blockade on Yemen
  
  • preventing humanitarian aid and goods from entering Yemen

Question 4

What trade occurs between the UK and Saudi Arabia?

Answer 4

• 200 joint ventures between Saudi and UK businesses
• Saudi investment in UK property worth £60bn
• Saudi export of 600k barrels of oil per day in return for BAE systems hardware such as Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, maintenance and support (‘Dove’ trade deal)

Question 5

How many Saudi nationals live in the UK

Answer 5

• 100 000

Question 6

How many UK nationals are in Saudi Arabia?

Answer 6

• 300 000

Question 7

What role has Saudi Arabia played in the war on terror?

Answer 7

• imprisoned 4 000 Al Qaeda or ISIS members in Saudi prisons

Question 8

Why is providing Saudi Arabia with weapons controversial?

Answer 8

• Saudi intervention in Yemen has resulted in war crimes using British Eurofigher Typhoons
  
  • during bombing campaigns and starvation due to blockade
• Corruption in Al Yamamah and Dove trade deals
  
  • evidence that Saudi princes have been paid by Government and BAE officials
• backing Saudi Arabia risks inflaming Sunni Shia divide
• Wahhabi philosophy pushed by Saudi government has led to extremism
• MBS crackdown on HR in Saudi Arabia, imprisonment of senior royals to consolidate power

Question 9

What human rights concerns are there within Saudi Arabia?

Answer 9

• corporal punishment is given out for minor offences
• rights of women are restricted
  
  • presence of male guardian to travel, rape laws put blame on victim unless solid evidence is given (usually hard), access to lawyers can vary
• Arrest and torture of those critical of MBS
• use of capital punishment, 81 executions per day
• migrant workers have almost no rights in practice
• historical anti israel stance
• murder of Khashoggi
• Bedouin people have very little rights, access to services

Question 10

What are the contents of the Al Yamamah and Dove deals?

Answer 10

• 790 aircraft
• 55 naval assets
• 1142 combat tanks

Question 11

How much military equipment does the US give to Saudi Arabia?

Answer 11

• most recent deal in 2017 is worth $110bn
• contains helicopters, tanks ships, missile defence systems, F-15 fighter jets
• training and maintenance

Question 12

What affect has the intervention in Yemen had since the start of the war?

Answer 12

• 377 000 killed both directly and through starvation
• 4 million internally displaced
• 80% of people are in need of humanitarian assistance
• 2.5 million cases of cholera
• 2.3 million children suffering from acute malnutrition
• 15 million without access to clean drinking water