An overwhelming majority (92%) of young Saudis, who form about two-thirds of Saudi Arabia’s population, see the United States as an ally of their nation, with 59 per cent stating the US is a ‘strong ally’ and 33 per cent citing it as ‘somewhat of an ally.’

This finding from the 13th edition of the annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey was announced today ahead of the historic visit of US President Joe Biden to the Kingdom on July 15 and 16, 2022. President Biden’s visit, upon the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is expected to enhance the historic and strategic partnership between the two nations.

As President Biden observed in an opinion piece in the Washington Post, “Today, Saudi Arabia has helped to restore unity among the six countries of Gulf Cooperation Council, has fully supported the truce in Yemen and is now working with my experts to help stabilize oil markets with other OPEC producers.”

According to the survey, the perception that the US is an ally of Saudi Arabia is at its highest level in five years. In 2020, 87 per cent of Saudi youth viewed the US as a ‘strong ally’ or ‘somewhat of an ally’, an increase in favourability over 2019 when 70 per cent of Saudi youth viewed the US as an ally. In 2018, 50 per cent of Saudi youth viewed the US as an ally.

The symbolism of Biden’s arrival in the Kingdom, following his first official visit to Israel, will not be lost on young Saudis, three-quarters (75%) of whom believe addressing the ‘Palestinian-Israeli conflict’ should be a top priority for the Arab world.

Despite the broadly positive perception of President Biden, young Saudi men and women believe he has work to do on the Palestine-Israel question, with 93 per cent insisting his administration “should have a played a more active and unbiased role in resolving the conflict.” A majority of young Saudis (73%) are confident that the conflict is ‘very likely’ to ‘somewhat likely’ to be resolved in the next five years.