| Summary/Abstract |
After many years in which Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) were the only Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel, in 2020 the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco joined the group. If news reports are to be believed, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is considering expanding its unofficial dialogue with Israel into the economic realm and perhaps to the domain of science, technology, and innovation (STI) as well.Footnote1 Since 2017, several events have attested to a strengthening of the informal political relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.Footnote2 The most conspicuous of these was a declaration by Muhamad bin Salman (MBS), the Saudi crown prince, that Israel is entitled to its territory.Footnote3 Another factor contributing to the improvement of relations was Israel’s forceful objections to Iran’s nuclear programme, views that were shared by the Saudi regime.Footnote4 The two countries have strong interests in restraining Iran’s influence in the Middle East.Footnote5 This current study is based on the premise that the two countries also have weighty common economic interests that could lead them towards normalization. This article examines the potential economic benefits of such an arrangement.
|