Multilateral diplomacy
A seat at many tables
Fourteen institutions and coalitions, arranged in rings from the global to the ad hoc. Select one to see what it is, Saudi Arabia’s place in it, and the minister’s documented participation.
Global
Plurilateral
Regional & sectoral
Coalitions
Global
United Nations
- What it is
- The universal organisation of 193 member states, founded in 1945.
- Saudi role
- One of the 51 founding members.
- Documented participation
- Delivered the Kingdom’s address to the General Assembly’s general debate in 2022, 2023 (deputising for King Salman), 2024 and 2025; delivered the Kingdom’s speech at the Summit of the Future (September 2024); co-chaired, with France, the High-level International Conference on the two-state solution (28–30 July 2025) and its resumed session (22 September 2025); met Secretary-General Guterres on 27 September 2025.
- In his words
- “Security and stability are not possible without cooperation and coordination between States to prevent an arms race to acquire these destructive weapons” — UNGA 78, 23 September 2023 (UN News rendering).
Global
G20
- What it is
- The forum of the world’s major economies.
- Saudi role
- Member. Held the presidency in 2020, the first Arab state to do so; the Riyadh leaders’ summit met virtually on 21–22 November 2020 under King Salman’s chairmanship.
- Documented participation
- Presided over the G20 foreign ministers’ extraordinary meeting of 3 September 2020 on cross-border measures during the pandemic; headed the Saudi delegation to the leaders’ summits in Rio de Janeiro (November 2024) and Johannesburg (November 2025) on behalf of the Crown Prince. No personal role at the 2020 leaders’ summit was documented.
Global
World Trade Organization
- What it is
- The body that sets and adjudicates the rules of international trade.
- Saudi role
- Became the WTO’s 149th member on 11 December 2005.
- Documented participation
- Trade negotiations are led by other Saudi ministries; no personal role for the foreign minister is documented.
Plurilateral
BRICS
- What it is
- A grouping formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and enlarged from 2024.
- Saudi role
- Invited in August 2023 to join. Saudi official statements describe the Kingdom as participating “as an invited country”, and as of 2025 ministers said membership was still being assessed; some BRICS sources list it as a member. This archive records the status as unconfirmed by Riyadh.
- Documented participation
- “Friends of BRICS” ministerial meeting, Cape Town (June 2023); BRICS Plus summit, Kazan (24 October 2024); BRICS summit, Rio de Janeiro (6–7 July 2025).
Plurilateral
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
- What it is
- A Eurasian political, economic and security organisation.
- Saudi role
- Dialogue partner: the Council of Ministers approved the memorandum on 29 March 2023.
- Documented participation
- None specific to the minister was found.
Plurilateral
G7 (invited partner)
- What it is
- The group of seven advanced economies, which invites partner states to some meetings.
- Saudi role
- Not a member.
- Documented participation
- Attended the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting at Vaux-de-Cernay, France, on 26–27 March 2026 as an invited partner, taking part in a session on reform of global governance.
Regional
Gulf Cooperation Council
- What it is
- Regional organisation of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, founded by charter on 25 May 1981.
- Saudi role
- Founding member and host of the secretariat in Riyadh.
- Documented participation
- Announced the AlUla Declaration with the GCC Secretary-General on 5 January 2021; GCC–US ministerial, Riyadh, 7 June 2023.
Regional
League of Arab States
- What it is
- Founded in Cairo on 22 March 1945.
- Saudi role
- Founding member. Saudi Arabia proposed the Arab Peace Initiative adopted by the League in 2002 and held the summit presidency from May 2023.
- Documented participation
- Chaired the Arab foreign ministers’ preparatory meeting in Jeddah on 17 May 2023, which welcomed Syria’s return, ahead of the 32nd summit on 19 May.
Regional
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
- What it is
- An organisation of 57 states, founded in 1969.
- Saudi role
- Host of its headquarters in Jeddah.
- Documented participation
- Chaired the preparatory ministerial meeting of the extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh (10 November 2024); addressed the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ extraordinary session in Jeddah (25 August 2025).
Sectoral
OPEC & OPEC+
- What it is
- OPEC was founded in Baghdad on 14 September 1960; OPEC+ joined it with other producers, including Russia, under the Declaration of Cooperation of 10 December 2016.
- Saudi role
- Founding member and, with Russia, co-leader of OPEC+. The UAE left both groupings with effect from 1 May 2026.
- Documented participation
- Energy policy is led by the Ministry of Energy. The foreign minister has discussed OPEC+ and energy markets with Russia’s foreign minister, most recently on 8 September 2026.
Regional
Red Sea & Gulf of Aden council
- What it is
- The Council of Arab and African States bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
- Saudi role
- Its charter was signed in Riyadh on 6 January 2020 by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea.
- Documented participation
- The signing took place in the minister’s first months in office; his individual role in it is not detailed in the sources retrieved.
Coalition
Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution
- What it is
- A coalition of states and organisations launched at the UN General Assembly in September 2024, with the EU, the Arab League and OIC contact group and Norway among its sponsors.
- Saudi role
- Initiator and host of its first meeting.
- Documented participation
- Announced the Alliance in New York on 26 September 2024; opened its first meeting in Riyadh on 30–31 October 2024, attended by about 90 states and organisations; co-chaired its high-level session in Rome with Italy’s Antonio Tajani on 29 July 2026.
Coalition
Arab-Islamic ministerial committee on Gaza
- What it is
- A committee mandated by the joint Arab-Islamic extraordinary summit in Riyadh on 11 November 2023 to press internationally for a ceasefire.
- Saudi role
- Chair.
- Documented participation
- As chair, led visits to Beijing (20 November 2023), Moscow (21 November), London and Paris (22 November) and Washington (December 2023); delivered a joint statement at the Security Council stakeout in September 2024.
Coalition
Board of Peace
- What it is
- A body created in January 2026 in connection with the Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction.
- Saudi role
- Member. A joint statement of eight foreign ministers on 21 January 2026 pledged to consolidate a permanent ceasefire and support reconstruction.
- Documented participation
- Signed the founding charter on the Kingdom’s behalf at Davos in January 2026 (Arab News).
Sources & Further Reading
- UN News, UNGA 78 (23 September 2023). news.un.org; UNGA 79. news.un.org; MOFA, UNGA 80. mofa.gov.sa
- SPA, Summit of the Future speech, September 2024. spa.gov.sa
- UN News, two-state conference, July 2025. news.un.org; September 2025. news.un.org
- Council of the EU, G20 Riyadh summit, November 2020. consilium.europa.eu
- UAE MOFA, G20 foreign ministers’ extraordinary meeting, 3 September 2020. mofa.gov.ae
- SPA, G20 Rio de Janeiro, November 2024. spa.gov.sa; G20 Johannesburg, November 2025. spa.gov.sa
- WTO, accession of Saudi Arabia. wto.org
- SPA, BRICS Plus summit, Kazan, 24 October 2024. spa.gov.sa; Swissinfo/Bloomberg on BRICS membership. swissinfo.ch
- French MFA, G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, March 2026. diplomatie.gouv.fr; SPA. spa.gov.sa
- Al Arabiya, Arab foreign ministers in Jeddah, 17 May 2023. english.alarabiya.net
- Saudi Gazette, preparatory ministerial meeting, November 2024. saudigazette.com.sa
- SPA via GlobalSecurity, OIC extraordinary session, 25 August 2025. globalsecurity.org
- OPEC, Declaration of Cooperation. opec.org
- Arab News, Red Sea council charter, January 2020. arabnews.com
- SPA, Global Alliance launch, 26 September 2024. spa.gov.sa; first meeting, Riyadh. arabnews.com; Rome, July 2026. esteri.it
- OIC, joint summit resolution, 11 November 2023. oic-oci.org
- Turkish MFA, joint statement on the Board of Peace, 21 January 2026. mfa.gov.tr