All roads lead to Riyadh

Both the climate and the power dynamics in the Arab world have changed recently. And changed for the better. This is not the Arab world of the past: Helpless, rudderless, at the mercy of others, rife with division, full of violence, blood and gore, terrorism, and you-name-it. There was a time when, if the Arab world were mentioned in the corridors of power, especially in the West, analysts and commentators would roll their eyes, dismissing any thought of peace and unity in the region as well-nigh impossible. 

Fast forward to 2022 and Saudi Arabia, under its visionary leadership, has reversed the tide of pessimism and has emerged as an amazing unifying factor in the Arab world. Its prudent policies, pre- and post-coronavirus pandemic, have earned it accolades for not only managing the economy but also for cementing a series of path-breaking reforms and these have positioned the country alongside the most serious world players. 

Saudi Arabia today is not what it was 20, or even 10, years ago. 2022 was a year filled with achievements for the Kingdom. From mediating a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine to helping with returning a US citizen locked in Moscow.  

Ever since the Kingdom launched its Vision 2030 program, the dark cloud hanging over the country has almost disappeared. Saudi citizens have been reinvigorated and Saudi youth empowered. At first, outsiders saw the changes as no more than cosmetic. But as project after project and reform after reform gained momentum and strength, the naysayers had to acknowledge that Saudi Arabia had finally arrived decisively on the global scene. 

2022 has been a year of hard work and triumph for Saudi Arabia, which has acted as the bridge between East and West

Noor Nugali 

It looks as if all roads for world leaders lead to the Saudi capital. The landscape has changed. Just this past year, we have witnessed an unprecedented number of high-level visits, both inside the Kingdom and abroad. This amounts to exuberant energy never seen before as well as a new alignment between the Gulf and other Arab countries, extending even to neighboring regions both East and West. 

The budget surplus of SR149.6 billion ($40 billion) in the first nine months of 2022 was an indicator.  

With economic strength, social cohesion and forward thinking came the time to leverage these on the world stage. Saudi Arabia realized, and rightly so, that it had every right to reassess its strategic partnerships, revise its current relations and, most importantly, look to its own interests. At that point, the country began its outreach. The benefits of that were manifested through its mediation in the release of Ukrainian and other prisoners from Russia. The Kingdom followed that up by collaborating and playing its part in getting American Brittney Griner released from a Russian prison. 

Saudi Arabia is of course home to the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, which gives it a unique position in the world. The serious reforms at home have had a deep and profound impact on the rest of the Muslim world. That was — and is — the traditional role. That role, however, has now expanded because the Saudi economy has become one of the strongest among the G20 nations. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary leadership and that is exactly what Saudi Arabia has provided and will continue to provide. 

Those who have traditionally looked at Saudi Arabia as a mere supplier of oil have had to change. The days of merely having transactional relationships with Saudi Arabia are gone, disappearing into the past. Saudi Arabia is now a fulcrum of peace and stability in the Middle East, a position it has earned through immense hard work and the reorientation of both its foreign and domestic policies. 

The reforms taking place in the country have been called positive. However, that is a weak term to describe such serious reforms. The intensity with which they were applied by the leadership and the quickness and adaptability with which they were embraced by the people all prove one thing: The country was hungry for these changes.  

Saudi Arabia has become, and will remain, an interconnected hub between East and West. Four years ago, during the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: “I believe the new Europe is the Middle East.” He vowed: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in five years will be completely different.” Fast forward four years, a pandemic and a European war later, and no one would dispute the truth of those words. 

The high-level summits held in Saudi Arabia in recent months ought to be seen against this changing scenario. In July, we had the president of the US visit the Kingdom and, just a month ago, Saudi Arabia hosted the Chinese president. These two visits speak loudly and eloquently of the Kingdom’s keenness and willingness to work with its partners and allies, regardless of differences. 

The Kingdom's achievements this year include a GDP surplus and mediation between two warring nations 

Noor Nugali 

The fact that this is a new Saudi Arabia and a new Arab world is inescapable if we look at the World Cup in Qatar. That international sporting event brought the entire world into the Arab world. Who would have thought the Arabs would so successfully organize a World Cup? Not only did Qatar do just that, but it has further cemented the Arab position in the eyes of the entire world. The critics — now proved wrong — had initially pooh-poohed the idea that Qatar would be able to pull it off for no reason other than it was an Arab country. 

Qatar successfully hosted the World Cup to rave and enthusiastic reviews. Headlines in the West pointed to the Gulf country’s shortcomings, whether real or imagined, while Arab, South American, European, North American and Asian fans filled the stadiums and gave credence to the claim that this was the best World Cup yet. 

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the world continues to change, countries continue to evolve and relations must be constantly reassessed and reevaluated. 

I say this without any embellishment, but based on facts. Take a look at the achievements of Saudi Arabia just this past year: From politics — tens of heads of state visited the country in 2022 — to sports, with Cristiano Ronaldo signing a two-year contract with Al-Nassr; women’s empowerment, including the appointments of Princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al-Saud as a deputy minister and Hala Al-Tuwaijri as head of the Saudi Human Rights Commission; a budget surplus, and the list goes on. 

Welcome to the new world order — one in which honor, dignity, trust, mutual respect and the inviolability of borders and noninterference in the internal affairs of other countries are paramount.  

• Noor Nugali is Assistant Editor in Chief of Arab News