Divergent goals will rock Saudi-Egyptian relations

Significance

The oil shipments were part of a five-year deal that Saudi would provide Egypt with 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products per month, but these were stopped in early October amid a row over Egypt's position towards Syria. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt have served as a bedrock of stability in the Middle East for much of the period since the second Gulf War (1990-91), but this subset of the regional order now appears in jeopardy.

Impacts

• If Riyadh withholds investments or future assistance, the Egyptian economy may deteriorate even further.
• Should Egypt's economic crisis deepen, its political stability outlook would look uncertain at best and unsustainable at worst.
• This crisis compounds the Kingdom's recent regional setbacks, as the Syrian and Yemeni wars slide towards unfavourable outcomes for Riyadh.