By Noureddine Omar | 2024-07-18

A soon-to-be finalized security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia will enable the kingdom to enhance its defense capabilities while developing and diversifying its economy, experts told Al-Fassel.

"The anticipated US-Saudi agreement, which is in the final stages of preparation and known as the Strategic Alliance, will have great benefits for both parties from a security standpoint," said Saudi military expert Mansour al-Shehri.

"The agreement guarantees the kingdom's security, which will enable it to pay attention to other types of strategic development," he told Al-Fassel.

"Without security there is no development," al-Shehri said.

The agreement will allow the kingdom to obtain the latest defense technologies, which "will move it to the higher ranks among countries militarily, and will make any military adventure against it an act of madness," he added.

"Modern wars are based primarily on technology of all kinds, starting from surveillance and monitoring to carrying out operations remotely," he said.

The agreement will "be a deterrent to some countries that threaten the security of the kingdom and the region, and also will be the final nail in the coffin of terrorist groups," he added.

High-level development gains

While negotiating the agreement, Saudi Arabia "was able to obtain unprecedented, high-level development gains," King Abdulaziz University lecturer Faisal al-Khawaldi told Al-Fassel.

Under the terms of the agreement, the kingdom would obtain "artificial intelligence chips," he said. "This will be a qualitative and strategic leap that also will elevate all developmental and economic fields."

This enhances the kingdom's position and standing on the global economic map, and will open up many economic opportunities away from oil, he added.

The kingdom has long aspired to diversify its economy so that it is not fully dependent on oil.

"All the new fields will allow the younger Saudi generations to enter the arena of modern industries, in addition to the creation of thousands of job opportunities," al-Khawaldi said.

"These undoubtedly will benefit not only the Saudis but the youth of the region," he added, just as with the next development stage, "the benefit will extend throughout the Gulf and the Middle East."

Separately on July 15, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a framework agreement that opens new possibilities for cooperation between the two countries on civilian space exploration and research.