The Saudi Arabian government on Wednesday decided to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The decision to join the SCO comes as Riyadh builds a long-term relationship with China as the West Asian nations ties with the US goes through a rough patch.
Saudi state news agency SPA said that the government approved a memorandum granting the kingdom status of a dialogue partner in the SCO. This is essentially the first step to join the SCO.
The political and security union comprises India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It has a rotating presidency and India is the current president of the SCO.
The former states which were part of the Soviet Union from central Asia and Russia and China formed the group in 2001. The group later included India and Pakistan and aims to play a role of acting as a counterweight to Western influence.
The other West Asian nation who is seeking full membership is Iran. People familiar with the developments told Reuters that Iran also signed documents seeking full membership.
The people mentioned above added that Saudi Arabia’s SCO membership was discussed when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the West Asian nation in December.
The kingdom will be granted full membership in the mid-term.
The decision was announced shortly after Saudi Aramco raised its multi-billion dollar investment in China. The energy company finalized a planned joint venture in northeast China and is acquiring a stake in a privately controlled petrochemical group, Reuters said.
The US is likely to be concerned about such developments because Saudi Arabia is its traditional ally. Though the US has tried to project a bold face by saying that its policies towards West Asia will not change despite Chinese attempts to exert influence around the world, growing closeness between Beijing and Riyadh has concerned Washington.
Following the war in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia is also looking to diversify partners. Mohammed bin Salman aka MBS, the crown prince, who runs the country along with his ageing father, has grown close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
West Asian nations are also concerned about the US withdrawing from the region despite Washington assuring that it will stay as an active partner.
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