ABSTRACT

The economic events after 1973 which so altered the relationships among the major industrial nations and the less developed countries served to dramatically increase the convergence of American and Saudi economic needs and interests. In response to this convergence, Saudi Arabia and the United States established the Joint Commission for Economic Co-operation on 8 June 1974. The issue of assured access also includes the question of whether Saudi Arabia, as the country with the highest proven reserves of petroleum and the greatest marginal production capacity of oil in the world, will continue to yield its treasures at a level commensurate with American economic needs in the period ahead. The Commission is but one among more than half a dozen 'joint commissions' established between the United States government and selected Middle Eastern and South Asian countries, among them Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Tunisia and India.