This article is co-authored by Karen E. Young and Alice Baudin.
The Trump administration has established that energy dominance is a national energy production priority, and it is also a foreign policy objective to extract concessions and opportunities from allies, partners and adversaries alike. For the United States and Saudi Arabia, there are a number of issues in energy diplomacy that could create opportunities for cooperation. There are also points of tension and competition, including the obvious tension in Trump’s call for lower oil prices, which is a detriment to Saudi fiscal policy, as well as to the interests of U.S. shale private industry.
For Saudi Arabia to host Ukraine-United States talks on ending the war with Russia and signing a mineral agreement, there is an opportunity to expand Saudi’s diplomatic reach, and also to create a synergy and investment opportunity for Saudi global mining and resource extraction expertise.
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