8 decades on, Saudi-US ties growing stronger

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the United States have shared cordial partnership for more than eight decades now, which essentially makes the relations special. The two friendly countries are working to further enhance cooperation on issues of mutual interest despite changing dynamics in the international politics.
President Barack Obama’s visit to Riyadh, where he is scheduled to meet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Riyadh on Wednesday, will be another boost to the relations.
The US President is also scheduled to meet other Gulf leaders during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on Thursday. The discussions are likely to focus on regional security, terrorism and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
Notably, the Kingdom shares a friendly relation with the US since 1933, when full diplomatic relations were established. Like many other key partners, the two friendly countries too have seen ups and downs in recent years on certain policies on issues concerning the Middle East.
However, the all-weather friendship between the Kingdom and the US stood the test of time and moved ahead, which is why it can be described as “Special Relationship.”
Riyadh and Washington maintain the much-needed political, security and economic balance in the GCC and its extended neighborhood.
The foundation for this special bonding was laid during the meeting between King Abdul Aziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia and the then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on-board the American warship, USS Quincy, in Feb. 1945.
The bilateral relations scaled new heights during the Gulf War with the then US President George Bush coming to the rescue and supporting Kuwait.
The relations reached their peak as King Abdullah visited the US thrice in 2002, 2005 and 2008 and it was reciprocated by President George W. Bush, who made two quick visits to the Kingdom in 2008, which was for the first time a US president visited a foreign country twice in less than four months.
The relations got a big boost when King Salman made his maiden visit to the US in September last year at the invitation of Obama.
History suggests that the Saudi-US relations have weathered many storms, including differences on some regional and global conflicts. There are certain grey areas in the smooth bilateral progress such as Riyadh and Washington having different perspectives on Iran’s nuclear deal and Syria’s ongoing civil war, in which Iran’s hegemonic aims have come to the fore.
The Saudi-US relations also suffered a setback after the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, pushing the country into the Iranian swamp.
However, respecting the security sentiments and striving for peaceful co-existence, traditional ally Washington subsequently sought to allay the concerns of its special allies over the nuclear deal the US and other world powers reached with Tehran.
Obama’s meeting with the six-nation GCC leaders on Thursday is expected to discuss these issues with focus on Syria, security concerns and counter-terrorism strategies.
Significantly, Obama will be accompanied by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who would meet his counterparts from the GCC countries.
The Saudi-US relations are historic and the first US citizens to travel to the Kingdom were Christian missionary doctors who won the goodwill of King Abdul Aziz as they treated him for an illness.
Following that life-saving treatment, King Abdul Aziz said in Riyadh on Jan 10, 1937: “I love your country and admire your president (Franklin. D. Roosevelt), and am very grateful for the services the members of your mission have rendered to me and my people.”
Another important aspect of the special relation was the renaming of California Arabian Standard Oil Company as Arab American Company (ARAMCO), which started oil exploration in May 1933.