Saudi Arabia's strategic importance is derived entirely from its oil reserves and worldwide investments. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the top ten trading partners of nearly every industrialized country in the world. Relations with the USA are particularly close. Although foreign reserves have fallen because of the cost of liberating Kuwait in 1991, the Saudis remain important institutional investors with significant amounts invested in the West.
The Saudi reaction to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 demonstrated the Sa'uds' determination to maintain the current "status quo" in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia helped to persuade other Arab states of the need to evict Iraq from Kuwait. It gave sanctuary to the Kuwaiti royal family and offered its military bases to the Western allies. More Saudi troops fought in the UN's Operation Desert Storm than did troops from any other Arab country.
The guardian of Mecca, Saudi Arabia has immense importance as the spiritual center for more than a billion Muslims all over the world.
