Why Saudi Arabia is interested in Ukraine
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has invited the Russian and American foreign ministers to Riyadh. What's behind it.
A Russian and a US delegation met in Riyadh for talks about Ukraine. Why is Saudi Arabia of all places offering itself as a mediator in this deadlocked conflict?
On the one hand, this is based on the "Strategy 2030": Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is focusing on diversifying sources of income, away from the extraction and processing of fossil fuels. To do this, the country wants to attract investors and establish itself as a strong diplomatic force in the region. MBS has pushed through reforms - such as allowing women to drive - that the West might like.
On the other hand, it is leading the country away from its historically close ties with the USA – due to oil production under Aramco (Arabian-American Oil Company), which began as a joint venture between US companies, was nationalised by the kingdom in the 1970s and is now one of the world's most valuable companies as Saudi Aramco.
Saudi Arabia has long maintained good relations with Russia - not least because the country maintained relations after the murder of opposition figure Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The kingdom has even recently shown a willingness to negotiate with Iran and presented itself as a mediator. This undermines the pioneering role of the Emirate of Qatar, which, through its supposedly neutral position, is currently negotiating between Hamas and Israel .
A second factor is the investments, especially in the agricultural sector, that Saudi Arabia has made in Ukraine and Russia in recent years: through Salic (Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company), which belongs to the kingdom's state investment fund, the kingdom also owns 12 percent of the largest Ukrainian agricultural group, MHP. Almost 200,000 hectares of grain are cultivated in Ukraine through CFG, which belongs to Salic . At the same time, Riyadh is currently investing in the Azow Grain Terminal, which is to ship grain in the Russian port of Azov.
Less than 2 percent of Saudi Arabia's land area is used for agriculture, partly due to the hot and dry climate. The investments that Saudi Arabia makes in grain and livestock farming also serve the country's food security.
