Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 24, 1991 TAG: 9103240118
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA LENGTH: Medium
Dismayed that some of the world's top recipients of Saudi aid sided with Iraq during the Persian Gulf War, kingdom officials have reversed one of this nation's longstanding policies: From now on, Saudi Arabia will be more selective about the millions of dollars it regularly dishes out to other countries and causes.
"Our money [in the future] will be directed by our national interests," said Abdulrahman Zamel, deputy minister of commerce.
The war forced Saudi government strategists to rethink their foreign-aid policy as leaders throughout the region examine newly emerging alliances. Postwar Saudi Arabia is expected to take a more assertive role in the region's diplomacy, a stance that contrasts with its passive past, diplomats say.
In the past two decades, Saudi Arabia has given $80 billion to nations, and pro-Islamic or Arab organizations, according to government figures. At the height of its generosity in 1982-83, foreign loans and grants amounted to 7 percent of its gross national product.
The leading beneficiaries of this aid, government officials say, included Iraq and three of Iraq's allies during the war: Jordan, Yemen and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
While Saudi money was sometimes used for development projects in Third World nations, it often went into foreign government coffers, no strings attached.
More important than what the money was actually spent on, it served a crucial political purpose: The Saudi benevolence purchased friendship and loyalty, placated potential enemies and deflected trouble.
If Saudi Arabia was surprised to see Saddam's troops closing in on Saudi borders after trampling Kuwait last August, the kingdom was even more startled when poorer Arab nations, such as Jordan and Yemen, voiced support for Iraq and condemned the arrival of tens of thousands of American soldiers.
It left many Saudis feeling bitter and betrayed.
"It was shocking to see the biggest recipients screaming about sharing the wealth," Zamel said in an interview. "They had been sharing our wealth."
by CNB