Alerts. Real-time analysis of events occurring at the intersection of economics, finance and global security concerns.

On July 9, 2019, the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia agreed on a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the military use of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, China’s alternative to GPS.  The MoU was signed by the Saudi Ministry of Defense and the Equipment Development Commission of China. The agreement comes after the Second China-Arab States Beidou Cooperation Forum took place April 1–2 in Tunis, Tunisia.  Prior to this event, the two countries reportedly agreed in March 2019 to “deepen military collaboration to jointly promote regional peace and stability.”