RIYADH —
Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince has embarked
on a multi-stop Asian tour, shoring up the Gulf nation’s ties with its biggest
energy market and signaling growing independence from Washington amid a bitter
row over oil supply.
اضافة اعلان
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman left Monday for the
G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
The official Saudi Press Agency said the trip would
include “a number of Asian countries”, though officials have not yet confirmed
details of the itinerary.
A likely stop is South Korea, where local media
report the crown prince will meet business leaders. He is then expected to
attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, starting Friday in Bangkok.
The trip comes as
Riyadh feuds with Washington over the
OPEC+ oil cartel’s October decision to
cut production by 2 million barrels per day.
Amid spiraling inflation and high energy prices, the
White House worked hard to prevent cuts in oil production.
The US blasted OPEC+’s cuts as akin to “aligning
with Russia” in the Ukraine war, and warned of unspecified “consequences”.
Saudi officials defended their policies as driven
purely by economics.
“This is a trip to further instill coordination with
energy markets in Asia, but also to show to the wider Western world, and
essentially to the US, that Saudi Arabia is not lacking in options in terms of
partnerships,” said Umar Karim, an expert on Saudi politics at the University
of Birmingham.
Energy ties
Sealed at the end of World
War II, Saudi-US ties are often described as an oil-for-security arrangement.
Yet for the past decade Saudi crude’s top export
markets have been in Asia: China, Japan, South Korea, and India.
Saudi officials therefore began placing special
emphasis on cultivating ties in the region well before Prince Mohammed became
heir to the throne five years ago, explained Aziz Alghashian, an analyst of
Saudi foreign policy.
“But what I would say is the market and
economic-driven foreign policy of Saudi Arabia now has amplified this and
expedited these kinds of trips and this focus on Asia,” he said.
Prince Mohammed’s meetings with Asian leaders are
likely to touch on several initiatives to facilitate further exports to the
region, including possible refinery and storage facility projects, said Kaho
Yu, an Asia energy specialist at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
“It is not just about buying the oil from Saudi
Arabia. It is more about trying to expand cooperation along the supply chain,”
he said.
Saudi Arabia could also partner with Asian countries
on crude alternatives.
On Monday, energy giant
Saudi Aramco and Indonesia’s
state-owned company Pertamina announced plans to explore “collaboration across
the hydrogen and ammonia” sectors.
The timing of energy talks with Asian partners is
key, coming just weeks before the next OPEC+ meeting on December 4, which will
likely put global disputes over energy supplies back in the headlines.
Prince Mohammed’s Asia tour also precedes a trip to
Saudi Arabia by Chinese President Xi Jinping planned for December.
Though no date is confirmed, Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said last month the kingdom was “finalizing
preparations” for talks with Xi that would also involve other Arab countries.
Developing stronger ties with China sends the
strongest possible signal of Riyadh’s move to balance its relations with global
powers, pursuing a “Saudi first” oriented foreign policy.
“They are still very much reliant on the US when it
comes to security, but they are showing that they are exploring other strategic
relations, maybe gradually trying to become less dependent on the US,” said
Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft.
“I think it’s very important for the Saudis to
project that they are not taking sides in this,” said Karim, of the University
of Birmingham.
“The current trend in Saudi foreign policy is that
of a player on its own.”
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