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Saudi Arabia
Relations with Jordan
The final country with which Saudi Arabia shared a land border
was Jordan, in the extreme northwest. Although the Hashimite dynasty
that ruled Jordan also had ruled the Hijaz before being driven
out by Abd al Aziz in 1924, past rivalries were buried after World
War II, and relations between the two monarchies were relatively
cordial, especially between 1955 and 1990. After the 1958 overthrow
of the Hashimite dynasty in Iraq, the Saudis assumed a protective
attitude toward Jordan. Riyadh provided economic assistance for
development projects, and, following the June 1967 War, direct
financial subventions for the budget. Saudi Arabia also mediated
between Jordan and its various Arab adversaries, including the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1970-71 and Syria in
1980.
Jordan's refusal to support Saudi Arabia during its confrontation
with Iraq in 1990 shocked and angered Riyadh. Many Saudis viewed
Jordan's action as that of stabbing a friend in the back. The
Saudi government reacted severely: all grants to Jordan were terminated;
low-priced oil sales were cut off; and Jordanian imports were
restricted. After Iraq had been defeated, Riyadh spurned Jordan's
initiatives to reconcile differences. In 1992 relations between
the two former friends remained deeply strained.
Data as of December 1992
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