KSA resetting foreign policy, economy, society — lessons for Pakistan

As America's influence has waned in Afghanistan and Iraq after its withdrawal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is positioned to play a noticeable role in the greater Middle East. The unprecedented OIC foreign ministers' huddle on December 19 in Islamabad is being held at the behest of Riyadh on a single point agenda – humanitarian intervention in Afghanistan. The renewed interest of KSA is not confined to West Asia particularly.

Already, Saudi Arabia under Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS) is extending its diplomatic reach in the foreign policy arena in different regions. Iraq (Mesopotamia – a crossroad for Iranian interest and power projection) has offered a new opportunity to KSA to leverage its influence. Riyadh quickly moved to establish working relations with pro-Iranian elements and deepened links with other pro-Arab Iraqi communities in Iraq as well showcasing itself as an investor. It was due to this leverage Baghdad offered to serve as a bridge culminating in Saudi-Iran rapprochement.

It was mainly Mohammad Bin Salman who seized upon the new bonhomie with Iraq and eventually settled for a modus vivendi with Tehran. This is even though Iran continues to be a main competitor in the Middle East and beyond using its hybrid proxy reach from Iraq to Yemen to the Region of Levant to contest Saudi interests.

The real foreign policy challenge of KSA was its strained relations with Qatar. Qatar is a fellow GCC country that has been virtually opposing Riyadh across the Middle East and Africa supporting rival anti-Saudi groups like Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, elements in Libya, and Syria. The latest international media visuals of Prince Mohammad Bin Salman visiting Qatar underscored the recent thaw in bilateral relations. His charm offensive was on display right, left and centre when he alighted from his plane at the airport.

In parallel to this engagement, Riyadh established behind the scene linkages with Israel – short of full recognition – giving flight rights over Saudi Arabia's air space. The KSA-Israel detente is certainly bound to endure.

Another theatre, Yemen has witnessed a kinetic disengagement of the KSA recently which had sucked in Riyadh's military prowess against pro-Iranian Houthi rebels. The de-escalation of hostilities is part of the KSA's major move to transit to a robust foreign policy posturing underpinned by peaceful means of resolving conflicts and managing competition with geo-political peers i.e. from Iran, Turkey to Qatar.

Riyadh's diplomatic effort has gone into overdrive which is partly driven by the increased retrenchment of US from the Middle East and partly motivated by the internal modernisation quest of Saudi Arabia.

In other words, linked with this new foreign policy charm, is Prince Salman's Vision of 2030 which has sought to transform the Saudi state, economy and society. According to its description, "Vision 2030 encompasses three primary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation. This gigantic goal has to be achieved by 2030: Saudi Arabia will have at least five universities among the top 200 universities in the world and refocusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by encouraging financial assistance".

The goal of pulling the economy away from oil dependency is another major milestone. This is where the promotion of non-oil sectors like environment, tourism and tourist-friendly policies is a radical shift from Saudi's traditional past. Societal changes like permitting women to drive, work and socialize are afoot. Men can mingle with the opposite sex in theatres, cinemas, clubs, cafés and even in wrestling matches. Young men can befriend women on social media and can go to new trendy cafés. The lifting of societal restrictions in a conservative society led to a belief by many that the Saudi population was ready to embrace these new changes.

Trying hard to combat extremism and radicalisation is another target the KSA has set for itself: It has banned its radical Jihadi groups even restricting mainstream Tablighi Jamaat too to reverse what is believed Saudi Arabia's ideological indoctrination of youth.

Admittedly, unlike the KSA, Pakistan has a capacity gap in foreign policy, in particular, least matching the former's financial means. Still one wonders if Islamabad can learn a lesson or two from Saudi Arabia's journey of its deep transformation in foreign policy, economy and society. "Since Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have closed diplomatic and strategic relations, Islamabad could benefit from our experiences across the spectrum", noted the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Admiral (retd) Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malik in a speech recently.

Taking a cue from the comments of the Ambassador and given the backdrop of the recent unfortunate Sialkot incident, Islamabad will be well advised to watch carefully the KSA's new strategy in deradicalising its youth to neutralise the ill-effects of a particular brand of the ideology of the Cold War era. Undoubtedly, Riyadh has successfully checked some of the radical themes linked with extremist groups which could not happen without the will, vision and resolve of the current leadership of the country.

Jan Achakzai is a geopolitical analyst, a politician from Balochistan and an ex-adviser to the Balochistan Government on media and strategic communication. He remained associated with BBC World Service. He is also Chairman of the Institute of New Horizons (INH) & Balochistan. He tweets @Jan_Achakzai