![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It's no longer a free lunch or a one-way street." "Well the party is over, and Pakistan needs to deliver value to this relationship. "Pakistani elites have a bad habit of taking Saudi support for granted, given what Saudi has done for Pakistan over the decades," tweeted Ali Shihabi, a Saudi author and analyst. The kingdom recently recalled $1 billion of a $3 billion loan from cash-strapped Pakistan, and an expired multi-billion dollar oil credit facility to Islamabad has not been renewed, a diplomatic source told AFP. Such a threat is particularly disconcerting for Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest sites and views itself as the leader of the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia appears frustrated with Pakistan after the longstanding ally pushed Riyadh to take a firm stand on the disputed region of Kashmir and threatened to take the issue to other Muslim forums. "The country is already seeking to end the perception of being 'an ATM'." "The dual economic impact of the coronavirus and low oil prices, however, may lead Saudi Arabia to restructure and rationalize its aid," said Farouk, from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. President Donald Trump about the decision a few hours before the official announcement and Trump supported it, the report said.For decades, the wealthy kingdom funneled billions in aid to its allies - and to its enemies' enemies - in a bid to bolster its position as an Arab powerhouse and “leader of the Muslim world”.īut as plummeting demand has sapped its oil revenues, the kingdom is rethinking old alliances that Saudi observers say have swallowed their cash while offering little in return, at a time when its quest for regional supremacy is increasingly challenged by rivals Iran, Turkey and Qatar.Ī swathe of regional countries, from Jordan and Lebanon to Egypt, Palestine and Pakistan, have been the top recipients of Saudi aid over the past decade, said Middle East expert Yasmine Farouk. “I just think it was the right thing to do for my country, for the people of Panama and for the future of a strong relationship between China and Panama,” he said in response to a question about whether it was “chequebook diplomacy”. “I didn’t ask anything from China,” Varela told Chinese state television’s English-language channel in an interview shown late Monday. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said the decision was correct and was Panama’s alone. China and Taiwan have tried to poach each other’s allies over the years, often dangling generous aid packages in front of developing nations, although Taipei struggles to compete with an increasingly powerful China. Taiwan’s government said at the time it was sorry and angry over Panama’s decision, and that it would not compete with China in what it described as a “diplomatic money game”. Panama established diplomatic relations with China in June in a major victory for Beijing, as it lures away the dwindling number of countries that have formal relations with the island China claims as its own. Panama’s decision to ditch long-standing ties with self-ruled Taiwan and switch recognition to China had nothing to do with “chequebook diplomacy”, its president has told Chinese state television. ![]()
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