Ever since the modern relationship began in 1945, the U.S. dollars, and Saudi support for American foreign policy operations across the world. The core logic underpinning the relationship is that the United States of America (U.S.) provides military protection of the Kingdom in exchange for a reliable oil supply from the Saudis, pricing of oil in U.S. Despite the differences between the two countries-an Islamic absolute monarchy, and a secular constitutional republic-the two countries have been allies ever since. President Donald Trump with the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Riyadh, May 2017.īilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States began in 1933 when full diplomatic relations were established and became formalized in the 1951 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. Bilateral relations Saudi–American relationsĮmbassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C.