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Asian Angle | Saudi Arabia banking on Muslim and Arab summits to strengthen its hand. Don’t believe the hype
- Strongly worded statements are the most likely outcome given the divisions in the region after eight years of war in Syria and inaction over Yemen’s humanitarian crisis
- Riyadh hopes three high-level gatherings in two days will bolster its position as a leader of the Islamic and Arab world
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Three back-to-back, high-level Muslim and Arab summits held over the past two days are likely to yield very little despite the hype surrounding them.
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Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the meetings against the backdrop of mounting tension between the United States and Iran, expects the gatherings to back its campaign to force the Islamic Republic to halt its support for regional proxies, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
It is banking on the site and timing of the summits – Mecca, as Ramadan nears its end – to strengthen its standing as the custodian of Islam’s two holiest cities and facilitate its ability to project its stand on Iran and other issues as one representing the Islamic and Arab world.
That could prove easier said than done. The three organisations involved – the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the 22-member Arab League and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – are deeply divided over Iran, how to restore regional security, and a host of other issues.
Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco, Oman and Qatar have adopted less strident positions towards Tehran. Some are believed to be backchannelling between the US and Iran.
Behind the scenes, various Muslim and Arab leaders, including some of Saudi Arabia’s closest allies, are likely to urge Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to prevent tensions with Iran from escalating into military conflict.
Officials from the United Arab Emirates, in a bid to dial down tensions, have so far refrained from apportioning blame for the sabotage of oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline, pending the outcome of an investigation.
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