BASIC FACTS

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest state in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf region. It is bordered to the north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; to the east by Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates; and to the South by Oman and Yemen. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an absolute monarchy form of government that declared its independence in 1932.

Capital: Riyadh

The King Abdulaziz University for Science & Technology has one nuclear research reactor under construction (LPPR). The Saudi National Atomic Energy Project (SNAEP) was established in 2017 and has plans for two nuclear power plants. SNAEP has had discussions with China, the United States, and Jordan regarding uranium mining and exploration.

TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

• Member of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) since 1961
• Member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1962
• Acceded to 1925 Geneva Protocol in 1971
• Signed & Ratified Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1972
• Signed Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1993
  • Ratified in 1996
• Acceded to Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in 2007
• Acceded to Moon Treaty (Celestial Bodies) in 2012
• Acceded to Outer Space Treaty in 1976
• Signed & Ratified Sea-bed Treaty in 1972
• Acceded to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM) in 2009
• Signed International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) in 2006
  • Ratified (with reservation) in 2007
• Acceded to Treaty for the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1988

REGIONAL GROUPS

• Member of the Asia-Pacific Group
• Member of the G-77
• Member of OPEC
• Founding member of the Arab League
• Member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

RECENT REPRESENTATION IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

• IAEA Board of Governors for 2019-2020
• Vice-Chair of the UN First Committee in 2014
• Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) since 2014
• Host of the League of Arab States Summit in 2016

 

LINKS

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations

Nuclear Sciences Research Institute 

Saudi National Atomic Energy Project

UN State Summary

Ratification of Treaties & Membership in International Organizations Related to Disarmament