The Presidency of the G20 is an opportunity to portray Saudi...

Riyadh – The Saudi Presidency of the G20 next November provides an opportunity for Riyadh to project itself as a regional and international leader in addressing the problems the world faces. But before this date, she needs a communications strategy that allows her to put the issues that tarnished her image behind her and strive to show her best.

The Global Forum on Religious Values ​​for the G20 Summit, which is expected to be held during the period from the thirteenth to the seventeenth of this October, will be an opportunity to present an image of the vision of the Kingdom’s religious openness and its break with the record of militancy that has marked its image in the West in recent decades.

The Kingdom needs to show that it is serious about reviewing negative ideas about the role of women, human rights and private freedoms, including freedom of opinion and religious difference, and it also needs to know whether the reform option it adopts will push towards the establishment of tolerance between religions and allow the building of places of worship for adherents. Various religions, as has been known in other Gulf countries such as the UAE, especially in light of the presence of millions of foreign workers on their lands.

Observers of the Gulf affairs say that the new Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabia of reform and openness, should not stop at the middle of the road in its options, and stop exaggerating the account of pressures, auctions and rumors released by the traditional powers that dominated the kingdom before 2015, and to go to the extreme in cutting. With the past.

These observers warn that the reluctance to break with the traditional forces may completely hinder the choice of openness, especially since these forces still hold the most important tools of confusion and disruption, chief among them the media and religious platforms. Despite the apparent support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s options, she continues to refuse to break the traditional pattern of society and give women more gains, or to open the country to cultural demonstrations that allow the mixing of the sexes.

Until now, the Saudi official media maintains its “neutrality” in the battles of reform, and refuses to open up to discuss the issues that feed foreign campaigns against the kingdom. Instead of defending the path of development and modernization, and the government’s options in facing corruption and the corrupt, it resorts to secrecy. This gives the impression that foreign campaigns are conveying the truth, especially with regard to human rights issues.

There are other issues that the Kingdom can address in a way that would improve its image, including ending negotiations for the war in Yemen, and pressuring parties affiliated with the government that the Kingdom supports and funds to stop implementing foreign agendas that hinder attempts to unify the front of the enemies of the Houthis loyal to Iran in order to facilitate negotiations on a solution. A close politician instead of engaging in a long-term war of attrition.

Saudi Arabia had relied on ending negotiations for the Yemen war in order to improve its reputation. Then these hopes were dashed due to the failed attempts to agree on a face-saving solution for all parties. The failure sparked calls in Western capitals for restrictions on arms sales.

Observers believe that Saudi Arabia must make up its mind about the issue of openness to Israel, as the UAE and Bahrain did before it, which is an openness that did not take place without the approval and consent of Saudi Arabia, noting that the state of hesitation at this level may impede Riyadh’s desire to play a major leadership role in the region, especially With what a supposed relationship with Tel Aviv will give him of economic, financial and legal advantages, especially in reducing the pressure of the financial and media lobbies in the West.

James Dorsey, a Middle East expert, considers that analyzing the cost and benefits of Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 will be complicated by factors it has no control over. For example, the nature of Saudi Arabia’s relations with the United States three weeks after it takes over the presidency will depend on who wins the US elections, who will control Congress and how it will deal with the potential Joe Biden administration.

Dorsey adds that the risks remain for Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and that this presidency will be a curse and a blessing at the same time. The way it deals with the final phase of its G20 presidency is likely to affect its relations with Western powers, in addition to its influence in any future talks on reorganizing the security architecture in the Gulf, which could include a more multilateral approach, as well as an easing Tensions with Iran.