Frankly Speaking: How close are we to a ‘historic’ US-Saudi deal?

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Updated 03 June 2024
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Frankly Speaking: How close are we to a ‘historic’ US-Saudi deal?

  • US ambassador to Saudi Arabia says potential agreement has the ability to fundamentally change the landscape of the Middle East for the better
  • Michael Ratney lauds Kingdom’s “extraordinary transformation” from empowerment of women and economic diversification to space exploration

DUBAI: Michael Ratney, the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, has said that a “historic” security deal currently under negotiation between the two countries has the potential to fundamentally change the landscape of the Middle East for the better.

Appearing on the Arab News current-affairs show “Frankly Speaking,” Ratney was optimistic the deal would both clarify and cement the decades-old relationship — based at present on verbal agreements — between Saudi Arabia and the US.

“We overuse that word ‘historic’ but it would be a historic agreement and it could fundamentally change the landscape in the Middle East for the better,” he said.
“Political cooperation, security cooperation, economic integration.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said the deal, which would see Saudi Arabia agreeing to normalize ties with Israel in exchange for closer US integration and recognition of a Palestinian state, could be just weeks away.

Despite the mutual enthusiasm for the deal, Ratney would not be drawn on the exact timeline for its conclusion, warning there were many moving parts, in particular the willingness of Israel to hold up its end of the bargain.

“I don’t think there’s anybody involved in these negotiations that wouldn’t like to have it finished tomorrow,” Ratney told Katie Jensen, the host of “Frankly Speaking.”

“But since all of that is a part of this agreement and these are extraordinarily complex and detailed discussions, I don’t think I could put a timeline for it.

“There ar also other elements of it including a US Senate role and obviously the situation in Israel weighs on this as well.

“So as much as we would like to get this done tomorrow, we are going to proceed as quickly as we can, as seriously as we can. And we’re going to get this done as soon as all of the pieces fall into place.”




Appearing on the Arab News current-affairs show “Frankly Speaking,” Ratney was optimistic a Saudi-US deal would both clarify and cement the decades-old relationship. (AN Photo)

What makes the deal so significant is that it clearly sets out the parameters of the Saudi-US relationship and safeguards them against the political whims and particularities of future US administrations, lending the partnership a degree of certainty.

“That’s why it’s an agreement that would involve US Senate ratification,” said Ratney. “US Senate ratification means it is a formal agreement that doesn’t depend on a particular administration.

“It would be an enduring agreement not between an administration or a government but between two countries. And in that, that brings certainty. It brings certainty to us. It would bring certainty to the Saudis as well.”

Commentators have drawn parallels between the proposed Saudi-US deal and the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the US and Japan, signed in 1960. Asked whether these assessments were accurate, Ratney said he could not go into specifics.

“I’m really reluctant to get into those sorts of details,” he said. “Those are exactly the kinds of things that are subject to negotiations at the highest level of our government and the highest level of the Saudi government.”

He did, however, say the deal would include upgrades to the security partnership and economic relations, while also taking steps toward meeting Saudi Arabia’s demand for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

“Let’s just say this would be a historic agreement that would upgrade the security partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. It would upgrade the economic relationship. It would bring Israel and Saudi Arabia essentially into the same region. And it would bring benefits and a path to statehood for the Palestinians.

“So, that’s a lot. It’s a complex set of discussions. And I’m really reluctant to get into the details of things, some of which are still yet to be negotiated.”

The success of the deal hinges to a significant degree on Israel’s cooperation. However, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which has two powerful far-right ministers, has been reluctant to give way on Palestinian statehood and end the war in Gaza.

Ratney, who previously served as a diplomat in Israel, said there was much to be gained for the region.




Michael Ratney, the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, met with Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas and other Arab News journalists during a visit to the headquarters of the newspaper in Riyadh on May 30. (AN Photo)

“I would say all the elements that we have discussed are of extraordinary value. The real value is taking it all together,” he said.

“All of those elements that have been under discussion, all of the US-Saudi pieces and the Israel and the Palestinian pieces taken together could fundamentally change the landscape of this Middle East.

“And that is the lens through which we see it and it’s certainly the lens through which the US Senate sees it and they ultimately would have a vote to ratify it.”

However, US lawmakers have been reluctant to pressure Israel to accept a ceasefire in Gaza. Asked whether Washington’s decisions could radicalize a generation of Arab and Muslim youth and create a Hamas 2.0, Ratney said careful diplomacy was required to achieve a lasting peace.

“It’s impossible for anyone who watches these scenes on a daily basis, and it’s certainly impossible for anyone that knows friends and family who have been engulfed in this conflict, not to be moved by it, and not to be motivated to find a solution as soon as possible, to find an end to the violence in Gaza, to find an end to the threats to Israeli security, to find a path to statehood, so that this sort of, for Palestinians, to ensure that this sort of conflict doesn’t resume,” he said.

“The diplomacy involved with that is extraordinarily complex, and there’s areas that we pursue, and there’s positions that we take that sometimes aren’t popular, but they’re based on our sense of the most expeditious, the most effective way of pursuing it.”

Ratney was further challenged by Jensen, who asked him whether the whole world could be wrong on Israel and why the US appears reluctant to listen to its closest allies and apply firmer pressure on its ally.

In response he said: “I think it’s safe to say that both President Biden, Secretary Blinken, all of our senior officials, have been heavily involved. This has been a major preoccupation of theirs since the outbreak of violence on Oct. 7.

“They have been in the region steadily. Secretary Blinken has been here six times since October 7, our national security adviser as well. In almost every case, that involves visits to Israel as well, where they have, sometimes, very difficult and very direct conversations.

“We have an important relationship with Israel, we have an important partnership with Israel, and we utilize that relationship and partnership to find a decent end to this conflict.”

Saudi Arabia and the US had differences of opinion on regional issues after the Biden administration took office in 2020. However, after President Biden visited the Kingdom in 2022, the differences have made way for greater convergence of opinions.

Ratney, who has been ambassador to Saudi Arabia for a year, said the bilateral relationship was already better when he took up his posting, and that there was potential for even stronger ties.




Ratney, who previously served as a diplomat in Israel was speaking to Frankly Speaking’s Katie Jensen. (AN Photo)

“When I got here a little over a year ago, the relationship felt like it was in a good place. And I do think that’s the case. And I think over the last year, it has gotten better and better as our partnership has diversified, as we’ve delved into negotiations over a potential historical agreement between our countries.

“So, if I look ahead a year, two years, three years, what I’d like is that trajectory and the speed of that diversification and partnership to continue.”

Ratney said he has been impressed by the pace and scale of change in the Kingdom in recent years, particularly the empowerment of women — least of all the lifting of the ban on women driving.

“Women driving is really the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “The big change, the big innovation — and it has fundamentally changed the face of this country — is the fact that women are involved in every aspect of the economy, in every aspect of society.

“And that’s as simple as me going into meetings with senior government officials and seeing women are full participants in these discussions.

“And they’re not there as symbols. They’re highly educated, in many cases, as well-educated or better educated than their male counterparts, often at US universities. And it’s an extraordinary thing to see.”

Turning to areas of cooperation and opportunities between the US and Saudi Arabia, Ratney said there was now scope for trade and exchange in high technology and the creative industries.

“We work heavily with US companies that become intrigued by this market, to export to this market, to partner with Saudis here and invest here, and we see it in areas like not just healthcare, but infrastructure,” he said.

“Obviously, this country is making huge investments in infrastructure and US companies bring real value there. In high tech, Saudi Arabia has ambitions to become a hub for innovation and technological development.

“That in many ways is a US brand, and so US companies, whether Amazon or Google or others, are here, are interested, are involved, and are becoming partners with Saudis in those efforts.

“In the past, there was never much of a film industry here. Now we see US film and television companies interested in partnering with Saudi’s nascent film industry. That’s just extraordinary as well. So across the whole economy, we see opportunities for the US.”




Michael Ratney, the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, was shown a special edition of Arab News by Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas during a visit to the headquarters of the newspaper in Riyadh on May 30. (AN Photo)

Some commentators have suggested that the US has lost business to China in the scramble for contracts in the Kingdom, particularly in relation to technology and communications.

“Are there competitors: Europeans, Chinese? Sure,” Ratney said. “But I have to say, where China might bring low price to the table, what the US brings is value and it brings innovation and it brings partnership, in a way that very few competitors can match.”
Another area of future cooperation is the space sector.

“To listen to the Saudi leadership talk about it, I think, quite rightly, a space sector, a commercial space sector, is becoming increasingly a normal part of any big healthy economy,” Ratney said.

“It was Axiom Space, a US company, that put two Saudi astronauts last year to the International Space Station — an air force pilot and a microbiologist. The Saudis clearly have further ambitions there as well, and we want to be a part of that.”

He added: “Space, commercial space in particular, is the future, and it is an extraordinarily lucrative and extraordinarily ambitious future.”

Although he is only a year into his posting as US ambassador to the Kingdom, Ratney is already looking ahead to the legacy he wants to leave.

“As Saudi’s ambitions expand, whether it’s expanding and reforming their educational sector, building a larger media sector, the space exploration that we talked about, building a high-tech industry, a whole range of areas where the US and Saudi are natural partners, I would like to see a few years from that for everybody to know about that and for Saudi to be succeeding in its ambitions and for the US to be seen as its number one partner as it does so.”

 


Saudi man arrested for $131m bank fraud

Updated 07 November 2024
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Saudi man arrested for $131m bank fraud

  • Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority announce new cases
  • Includes arrests for tobacco smuggling, roadworks scam

RIYADH: A Saudi man has been arrested for illegally obtaining SR493 million ($131 million) of bank financing.

The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) worked with the Presidency of State Security and the Saudi Central Bank to arrest Khalid Ibrahim Al-Jraiwi.

He was arrested for “working with a bank employee in deceiving the banking regulations and obtaining an illegal bank financing of SR493 million,” Nazaha said on X.

It was one of a number of criminal cases announced on Wednesday by the authority, with legal proceedings underway.

Al-Jraiwi submitting a financing request containing false property deeds and fake contracts indicating investments in those properties by government entities.

The bank employee connected to Al-Jraiwi accepted the request and sent an email to the relevant departments at the bank confirming that the documents were valid. After receiving the financing, Al-Jraiwi transferred SR100 million abroad to purchase properties, registered under the names of his relatives.

Three men from the General Directorate of Passports were also arrested for facilitating the illegal entry and exit of Al-Jraiwi in exchange for money. The accused individuals admitted the charges and have been referred to court for prosecution.

In another case, Nazaha officials cooperated with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority to arrest Saudi man Mohammed Ghazi Mohammed Al-Sayed and two Yemeni residents, Abdulmalik Ahmed Qaid and Abdullah Abdu Qasim, for smuggling a container of cigarettes from Jeddah Islamic Port.

The men were “caught in the act” of paying SR1.5 million to smuggle the container without paying a SR7.2 million tariff, by claiming that the cigarettes were paper tissues.

Investigations into the case are continuing ahead of the appearance of the accused in court.

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority also helped Nazaha arrest Sudanese man Osman Mohammed Naeem Abdulrahman for using a car and SR20,000 to pay for smuggling four tons of tobacco from Jeddah Islamic Port.

In another case, Al-Jouf Municipality official Khalaf Saleh Marzouq Al-Khaldi was arrested for receiving SR8 million from Yemeni resident Mohammed Ali Omar Al-Saqaf to issue invoices worth more than SR17.6 million for roadworks projects in the region that were not executed.


Saudi stories pique audience interest, says Bloomberg Media MD

Updated 07 November 2024
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Saudi stories pique audience interest, says Bloomberg Media MD

  • Visiting the Athar Festival of Creativity in Riyadh, Amit Nayak told Arab News: “We’ve seen a real appetite from our global audiences for content from here”

RIYADH: Stories and articles about Saudi Arabia and the region are among the most widely read by audiences, according to Bloomberg Media’s managing director in the Middle East and Africa.

Visiting the Athar Festival of Creativity in Riyadh, Amit Nayak told Arab News: “We’ve seen a real appetite from our global audiences for content from here.”

He said that with such a large and diverse team based in the Middle East, Bloomberg Media was able to bring local insights and perspectives to provide content based on what audiences wanted.

“We remain focused on deeply understanding our Middle Eastern audience, fostering direct relationships, and delivering trusted news and insights tailored to their needs,” he said.

“We work with leading entities across the region, such as Saudi Tourism Authority and Red Sea Global, using custom content across different platforms to help tell their stories to regional and global audiences.”

The use of smart technology has been big part of Bloomberg’s strategy for over a decade, with The Bulletin being a predominant feature on the app. Launched by Bloomberg’s Media Innovation Lab in 2018, it provides single-sentence summaries of the top three stories.

“We leverage first-party subscriber data through our AI-powered Audience Accelerator platform,” added Nayak. “This allows us to precisely target key demographics to inform machine learning models that predict the population of users on the site, enhancing campaign performance and building brand credibility.”

In 2022, Bloomberg Media Studios opened a regional studio in Dubai and earlier this year launched “Bloomberg Horizons: Middle East & Africa,” a flagship morning program.

Bloomberg News also launched the Mideast Money newsletter, which focuses on “the intersection of wealth and power, and the impact of regional sovereign investors and dealmakers in global finance.”

Evolving as a commercial team that, 10 years ago, predominantly sold advertising, Nayak said that as clients became more sophisticated and keener to reach global audiences, Bloomberg Middle East was fostering internal talent to better collaborate with them.

“We were well placed because we have invested heavily in our teams on the ground here — whether that’s expanding sales, building a client marketing team, or hosting events on the ground in the region,” he said.


Saudi national guard minister holds talks with South Korean president in Seoul

Updated 06 November 2024
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Saudi national guard minister holds talks with South Korean president in Seoul

  • Meeting takes place during official visit by Prince Abdullah bin Bandar to attend a military parade

SEOUL: Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s minister of national guard, held talks on Wednesday with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea in Seoul, during which they discussed bilateral relations and ways in which ties between their countries might be enhanced.
It came during a visit by the prince to attend a Korean Ministry of National Defense military parade, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Abdullah conveyed greetings from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and their best wishes for the continued progress and prosperity of the president and people of South Korea. The president passed on his own greetings and message of appreciation to the king and crown prince.


Saudi crown prince receives medical team that performed world’s first fully robotic heart transplant

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives a Saudi medical team from KFSHRC.
Updated 06 November 2024
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Saudi crown prince receives medical team that performed world’s first fully robotic heart transplant

  • The crown prince congratulated the medical team and the leadership of the hospital on the historic achievement
  • Saudi medical team successfully performed world’s first fully robotic heart transplant in September 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday received the Saudi medical team that successfully performed the world’s first fully robotic heart transplant.

The transplant was performed at Riyadh’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in September on a 16-year-old patient suffering from end-stage heart failure.

The crown prince congratulated the medical team and the leadership of the hospital on the historic achievement, praising the efforts of Saudi personnel and their ability to innovate and achieve a global precedent in the medical field.  

Members of the medical team thanked Prince Mohammed for his support, while the head of the medical team, Saudi cardiac surgeon Dr. Feras Khaliel, said the reception is an incentive for the team to do more to serve humanity and the Kingdom.


Specialists participate in international conference in Jeddah over the conservation of Red Sea turtles

Updated 06 November 2024
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Specialists participate in international conference in Jeddah over the conservation of Red Sea turtles

  • First-of-its-kind symposium an important step toward cooperation between Red Sea countries and international experts in facing environmental challenges
  • Participants reviewed the latest research and discussed issues related to the status of sea turtles in the region

JEDDAH: More than 90 academics and experts in environmental sciences and biodiversity conservation from 10 countries participated in the first International Symposium for the Conservation of Sea Turtles in the Red Sea.
The Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday that the symposium, which ran from Nov. 3-6 in Jeddah and titled “Moving toward the future … enhancing the protection of sea turtles in the Red Sea through science, cooperation and innovation.” was organized by the General Organization for the Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea (Shams).
The first-of-its-kind symposium is an important step toward cooperation between the Red Sea countries and international experts in facing environmental challenges, because it reflects an urgent regional and global desire to enhance environmental sustainability and develop effective strategies to protect sea turtles in the Red Sea, in line with international environmental obligations and preserving the natural heritage of the Kingdom.
During the four-day event, participants reviewed the latest research and discussed important issues related to the status of sea turtles in the region, as well as means to find innovative solutions to the challenges they face, through lectures, presentations and interactive workgroups.
Seven of the most prominent international speakers gave keynote speeches, during which they presented their experiences and research expertise on protecting sea turtles and made recommendations aimed at enhancing the sustainability of this vital species in its natural environment.
The conference staged 31 presentations and four workgroups that addressed various topics, including assessing the strengths and weaknesses of efforts to protect sea turtles in the Red Sea, and identifying activities and procedures that contribute to developing a comprehensive action plan for the Red Sea.
In addition, the workshops during the symposium highlighted the importance of developing an integrated strategy to protect sea turtles in their breeding sites, especially in the Ras Baridi area, which faces critical environmental challenges.
Among the conference’s main priorities and outcomes, the development of a regional action plan for the conservation of sea turtles was discussed, in addition to bilateral initiatives between the Red Sea countries to rehabilitate beaches designated for turtle nesting and provide strategic support for future development plans.
It was also agreed to strengthen partnerships with universities to provide international supervision for Saudi students, and to establish local partnerships aimed at preserving important natural environments for turtles, especially in the Four Sisters islands, which were recently discovered by the Shams team and designated as a special area requiring environmental management to protect them.