Relationship dossier
Bahrain
Saudi Arabia
Relationship assessment
Close strategic partnership built on security cooperation and sustained political alignment
Bahrain toward Saudi Arabia
+75Bahrain has supported Saudi-led regional initiatives, including participating in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen from 2015. Its government has generally aligned with Saudi Arabia on major regional security and diplomatic issues.
Saudi Arabia toward Bahrain
+85Saudi Arabia sent troops to Bahrain in 2011 at the Bahraini government's request during domestic unrest and joined a Gulf support package for Bahrain. These actions reflect substantial security and economic backing.
Overall relationship
+80The relationship is structured by close security coordination, Saudi support for Bahrain's stability, and Bahrain's participation in Saudi-led regional initiatives. These sustained cooperative features underpin a close bilateral partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia maintain a close strategic partnership, including security cooperation and substantial political alignment. Saudi Arabia sent troops to Bahrain in 2011 at the Bahraini government's request and has been part of a Gulf support package for Bahrain. Bahrain has also participated in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The partnership is reinforced by longstanding bilateral coordination and the King Fahd Causeway.
Key developments
Saudi troops entered Bahrain at the Bahraini government's request during unrest, as part of a Gulf deployment.
Saudi Arabia joined a Gulf support package for Bahrain, announced in 2011.
Bahrain participated in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
The King Fahd Causeway connecting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia opened.
Major uncertainties
- The current scope and implementation of bilateral security cooperation are unclear.
- The scale and terms of Saudi economic support to Bahrain have varied and are not specified here.