Security and Development Summit anchors US diplomacy in the Middle East

US President Joe Biden has already met with Middle Eastern leaders at the Security and Development Summit, in what has been described as an important meeting in political and diplomatic terms for the future of the region.

At the Summit, the United States discussed with representatives of the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries the areas that have been - and are being - most affected by the current international crisis that is affecting the countries of the region as a result of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. 

The energy sector, food security, common defence and the challenge of the climate issue were the main themes of the session, and new cooperation ties were proposed in order to reduce the impact on the region of the consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the common challenges affecting all countries.

Oil and gas have been and continue to be two commodities that are being greatly affected by this situation. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the European bloc, together with the United States, has tried to isolate Russia internationally as a form of punishment. However, this isolation is not easy to do since Russia, an OPEC member with significant gas reserves, plays a key role in supplying gas to Europe, as well as in the oil sector.

This delicate situation has led to a new rapprochement between Riyadh and Washington. Despite the fact that in recent months Saudi Arabia has on certain occasions declared its refusal to increase its oil capacity, Biden's visit may have brought about a change in this dynamic, since after the summit the Saudi prince said that the kingdom "will increase its oil production to 13 million barrels a day, but after that it will not have the possibility of increasing it". 

Thus, according to recent statements, production could increase by a total of 3 million barrels a day, a figure which, although not very high, can be interpreted as a step that brings Middle Eastern diplomacy closer to the United States and, ultimately, to the West. 

The climate issue was also at the centre of the summit. Bin Salman called on the invited countries to adopt a "balanced approach" that would be gradual but would lead to the much-desired energy transition to renewable energies.

For the prince, "the environmental challenges facing the world today, especially climate change, and the determination of the international community to keep the Earth's temperature in line with the levels set by the Paris Agreement, require realism and responsibility in order to achieve sustainable development". In order to achieve the goal of net carbon neutrality, Saudi Arabia has chosen to employ a circular carbon economy plan in its development pipeline. 

This new sustainable plan ensures that supply chains will not be affected, as well as economic growth itself. For this reason, the Saudi kingdom has two plans known as Green Saudi and Green Middle East, which aim to achieve the medium-term goal of emission neutrality both in Saudi Arabia and in the rest of the countries in the region through the promotion of infrastructures that lead the transition to renewable energies.

In Biden's address to the summit, the president reiterated his position as an "active and engaged partner" in the region on all diplomatic issues.

On common defence issues, the United States reiterated its commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. In this regard, one of Washington's main objectives is to create a common defence bloc to serve as a deterrent to the Iranian nuclear threat. To this end, the US has been optimistic that Gulf and regional countries will form a wall to contain Tehran's bullying, an enemy common to both the US and Arab monarchies. 

Current conflicts such as the one in Yemen were also on the agenda. In this regard, the United States reaffirmed its position as a country that wants to continue working with Saudi Arabia and Oman to reach a political solution to a conflict that has been festering for more than a decade and for the moment does not see any solution in the short term.

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.