Challenges facing Salman bin Abdulaziz

Last Friday morning King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, the greatest Arab king in the third millennium, was taken from us. He was the most popular king, the man with the reformist project inside the kingdom, and the man with the Arab vision. Fate did not give him enough time to complete his projects. Perhaps the latest of King Abdullah’s achievements in the Arab region was the Gulf-Gulf reconciliation. He was able to close his eyes and rest after he made sure the political atmosphere between his GCC brothers was calm and there was no turbulence or upcoming storms.

I will not be talking about the achievements of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the late King Abdullah; I will leave this for another time. I hope God helps me track his achievements after the shock of his death dies down. May God have mercy on his soul and may He reward him the highest level of paradise. Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.

I must take this opportunity to praise the smooth transition of power in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the appointment of positions without any trouble at a commendable speed. I would also like to congratulate King Salman Bin Abdulaziz for his assumption of the reins of power and leadership in the country. My congratulations to Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz, for being the next crown prince, and to Mohammed Bin Naif for his position as deputy crown prince. May God bless them with the ability to carry out their tasks for the prosperity and stability of the kingdom, and may he keep them safe from harm.

It is an indisputable fact that the challenges facing King Salman Bin Abdulaziz are very large on every level. On the family level, there will undoubtedly be discussions within the ruling family regarding the leadership positions and what will happen once the official mourning period is over. However, King Salman’s wisdom and experience enables him to contain all the disputes and please everyone through his power of persuasion, even though the Arab proverb says, “Pleasing people is an impossible task”. However, the ruling family in Saudi Arabia never allows its disputes to appear on the surface and they are capable of keeping their secrets. They all work together in order to protect the state, its security, safety and stability, and this deserves admiration.

As for the other side, it is the internal affairs left by the legacy of King Abdullah which is full of achievements. Political openness, giving Saudi women a role, and the expansion of infrastructure, despite the falling oil prices are all matters that need to be built upon. The new Saudi administration will need to face the issue of unemployment among the youth and the demands for continuing the reforms initiated by the late king. This administration must quickly contain all of these issues, as well any other issues that may arise.

There are many varied portfolios in King Salman’s hands at the moment. This includes the Yemeni file, which King Salman will be addressing without a Yemeni president. King Salman also finds that after the Yemeni president resigned, so did the government due to the escalation of the conflict and the domination of the Houthis. Today, Yemen has basically gone with the wind. All information regarding the Yemeni issue indicates that Iran has played a role in what has occurred in the country, which will undermine the safety, security and stability of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, and other Arab countries bordering the Red Sea.

The Syrian issue is definitely a source of concern for the Saudi administration because it affects the Jordanian arena, which directly borders Saudi Arabia. It also affects the political, economic and security situation in Lebanon, which Saudi Arabia is particularly interested in. In light of the governance of the Daawa Party and the control of sectarian militias over Iraq, with the help and direction of Iran, which has not been denied by Iran, there is no doubt that Iraq poses a danger to the kingdom’s security, as well as to Kuwait and the GCC. The Iranian ring has been completed around the GCC countries after the occurrences in Yemen. The Kingdom of Bahrain is also another concern to the Saudi leadership and it cannot ignore what is happening in Bahrain.

I believe that the new Saudi administration must mend the rift between the political leadership in Bahrain and the opposition based on political grounds, not security grounds. They must not wait until matters are worse in Bahrain and mending the rift becomes impossible. Any imbalance that occurs in Bahrain will certainly have consequences for the eastern area of the kingdom, and therefore Saudi Arabia must quickly find solutions for the problem.

I will end by saying may God grant success to King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and the team he appointed for the good of the Arab and Islamic nations, and may He give him the ability to carry out his duties.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.