Relationship dossier
Saudi Arabia
Western Sahara
Relationship assessment
Saudi Arabia supports Morocco’s position on Western Sahara; direct Sahrawi-Saudi government relations are unclear.
Saudi Arabia toward Western Sahara
-35Saudi Arabia has supported Morocco’s position on Western Sahara, including its autonomy proposal, opposing the territory’s independence claim.
Western Sahara toward Saudi Arabia
Not assessedOverall relationship
Not assessedHow 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
Saudi Arabia supports Morocco’s position on Western Sahara, including Morocco’s autonomy proposal, rather than the territory’s independence claim. Information about direct government cooperation by the Sahrawi authorities with Saudi Arabia is insufficient to assess their policy toward it.
Areas of tension
- Western Sahara’s political status and competing claims over sovereignty and self-determination.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and practical effects of Saudi support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal are unclear.
- Details of direct cooperation between the Sahrawi authorities and Saudi Arabia are limited.