greatreporter.com, December 31st, 2006
Area: 2,149,690 sq km (830,000 sq mi)
Population (2006 est.): 23,687,000
Capital:
Riyadh
Head of state and government: King Abdullah
Saudi Arabia
witnessed a number of important developments in 2006. King Abdullah
's strategic visit to
China
,
India
,
Malaysia
, and
Pakistan
at the beginning of the year signaled a possible shift in
Saudi
economic outlook, especially in the shifting of oil and gas interests from the
U.S.
and Europe to East Asia. A number of agreements were signed to build joint refineries and petrochemical plants in both the latter region and
Saudi Arabia
. The Saudis were reportedly looking to boost relations with countries that did not have an interest in
Saudi
internal affairs. In late October King Abdullah
established the Allegiance Institution, a committee of the descendants of
Ibn
Saud, the founder
of the kingdom, to determine the future of succession within the vast ruling family (there were about 6,000
Saudi
princes). Crown Prince Sultan
would be exempt from the new rules, however.
The economic situation remained robust, owing to the international increase in crude-oil prices. Although
Russia
overtook
Saudi Arabia
as the main global oil producer,
Riyadh
was still the main global oil exporter.
In clashes with
Saudi
police during the year, a half dozen extremist al-Qaeda operatives were killed. Of the 26 antigovernment operatives on the country's most-wanted list, only one name remained. Nonetheless, the
U.S.
government warned of possible al-Qaeda attacks on
Saudi
oil facilities in the Eastern province. In October 700 former Islamic extremists were pardoned and released from jail after they pledged not to engage in antigovernment activities. Some Islamists were unhappy about
Riyadh
's proclamation that it would make major changes to the
Saudi
educational system in an effort to emphasize the spirit of modernity, nonviolence, and cooperation with non-Muslims that was dictated by Muslim teachings.
Relations with the
U.S.
remained lukewarm. The
Saudi
ambassador to
Washington
wrote an article in the Arab press defending his country's stance against American accusations that
Riyadh
had not done enough to fight the radical Islamic groups and cut off their funding from inside
Saudi Arabia
. In November,
U.S.
Vice Pres.
Dick
Cheney
met with King Abdullah
in
Riyadh
to discuss regional security issues.
The number of
Saudi
students studying in the
U.S.
following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks plunged drastically, but by 2006 nearly 10,000 had returned to American universities.
Rising tensions between
Tehran
and
Washington
and European capitals over the nuclear issue caused
Saudi Arabia
to make
Iran
and its policies its main concern. Although
Riyadh
remained largely silent on this matter, it tried to exert pressure on
Syria
to sever its alliance with
Iran
and to discourage the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in
Lebanon
from attacking Israeli posts in southern Lebanon
. In addition, the explosive situation in
Iraq
led
Saudi
policy makers to decide to construct a
Iraq
. The structure would consist of two metal barriers, with barbed wire piled in a tall pyramid between them.$500 million fence along its 900-km (560-mi) border with
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