Question

1. Saudi Arabia has always been a popular country with Americans; current approval ratings are near 90%.

1. True
2. False

Answer 1

Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest sovereign state in Western Asia, the second-largest in the Arab world (after Algeria), the fifth-largest in Asia, and the 12th-largest in the world.

Saudi Arabia is one of the top twenty economies in the world (G20).It is dependent on oil[ as the country has the second-largest proven petroleum reserves, and the country is the largest exporter of petroleum in the world. It also has the fifth-largest proven natural gas reserves and is considered an "Energy Superpower".

The conventional wisdom in Washington has long been that the United States and Saudi Arabia have important mutual interests that sustain their bilateral relations, but they do not adhere to the same core values. That assumption is in need of reassessment. Over the past two decades, Saudi Arabia has undergone a gradual but important shift in political culture and has created new institutions that have made the kingdom more open, more inclusive, and more tolerant. The introduction of an ambitious package of economic and social reforms known as Vision 2030 by now Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman last year has accelerated this change. That bodes well for U.S.-Saudi relations going forward and is key to their endurance.

Saudi Arabia has supported a number of global initiatives that promote interfaith dialogue, including a UN-sponsored conference in 2008 and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, based in Vienna, Austria, which opened its doors in 2012. It is also worth noting that the late King Abdullah met with Pope Benedict in 2007 and current King Salman met with Coptic Pope Tawadros when he visited Egypt last year. These initiatives should not be dismissed as mere empty gestures.

The Saudi government has made a sincere effort to reevaluate what is being taught at its schools and what is being promoted by its religious institutions. An effort to overhaul Saudi Arabia’s education system is well underway and the revision of its school curriculum is near completion. In addition, there are an estimated two hundred thousand Saudi students of both genders enrolled at colleges and universities all over the world. Many of them have played a constructive role in bridging the gap in understanding between the West and Islamic world by engaging not only their peers at academic institutions but also the wider local community, joining various volunteering programs to help those less fortunate.

Hence the above statement is True.