Saudi Arabia in 2000

Two political issues gained prominence in Saudi Arabia in 2000. The first was the formation of a family council of 18 princes to provide, among other things, a better chance for easy succession to the throne and better relations among the members of the royal family. The second important issue was that the long-standing border dispute with Yemen came to a happy end with the signing of an agreement between the two countries on June 12. Actual demarcation of the 2,500-km (1,553-mi) border was expected to start soon. In other developments Saudi-Iraqi relations witnessed a stabilization of sorts after much fluctuation. In August Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein branded Kuwait and Saudi Arabia “stooges for the United States and Israel,” an accusation that was answered fiercely by Saudi media, which accused the Iraqi president of “transforming Iraq into a field of ruins thanks to his political wisdom.” Two months later, however, Saudi Arabia did not object when Iraq was invited to the Arab summit meeting in Cairo. Additionally, Saudi Arabia asked the UN to permit it to open a border crossing between it and Iraq in order to deliver humanitarian aid to the latter. A Saudi plane en route to London was hijacked to Baghdad in mid-October; the next day Iraqi authorities returned it to Saudi Arabia with all the passengers except the two Saudi hijackers, who asked for political asylum. In November a British engineer was killed, and his wife was wounded when their car exploded in Riyadh, a possible example of anti-Western sentiment.

Economically, the rising oil prices and the volume of production provided the country with its highest current account surplus since 1981. In spite of agreements by OPEC to boost production, oil prices skyrocketed to above $30 per barrel for part of the year and were expected to average $27 per barrel for the whole year, with Saudi oil production averaging about eight million barrels a day. This would wipe out the nation’s current deficit and put the current surplus at no less than $22 billion–$25 billion. As in the previous year, however, and under the direct advice of Crown Prince Abdullah, the surplus was mainly going to be used not to increase spending but instead to pay off the country’s foreign and domestic debts. These steps prompted Moody’s Investors Service to upgrade the kingdom’s financial standing. Similarly, the government did not shy away from its earlier general direction of reducing subsidies and encouraging the private sector to take a more active role in some parts of the economy. As an example, Saudi Arabia was planning a $100 billion deal with 12 leading oil companies to develop gas-fueled infrastructure. Equally important, a privatization program was about to start, and Saudia, the national airline carrier, with an annual revenue in 1999 of about $3 billion, was one of the first candidates for a partnership between the public and private sectors. Other important candidates included the large petrochemical factories at the two cities of Al-Jubail (on the Persian Gulf) and Yanbuʿ (on the Red Sea).

Quick Facts
Area: 2,248,000 sq km (868,000 sq mi)
Population (2000 est.): 22,024,000
Capital: Riyadh
Head of state and government: King Fahd
Saudi Arabia in 2000
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Saudi Arabia in 2000
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