ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the evolution, objectives, and future of the Saudi-Egyptian relationship, with particular emphasis on its politico-military aspects. The numerous military balances that in interlocking fashion frame the power relationships within the area have had a pre-eminent influence on the shaping of the new regional order in the seventies. Some of the increased spending went to defray the very high costs of the war, but much of it was attributable to the ambiguous military results and the strategic consequences of the Arabs having taken the initiative. In Egypt, the increased military burden was cushioned by the heavy influx of Arab aid following the war, and a reduction in weapons imports forced by the growing breach with the USSR. The most tangible instrumentality of the evolving Saudi-Egyptian relationship was military-related assistance, both through armaments procurement-by way of direct transfers, subsidies, intermediary purchases, and joint production efforts—and through indirect budgetary support.
