SAUDI ARABIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: India and Saudi Arabia have signed the Bilateral Haj Agreement 2024, further solidifying their ties and prioritizing the well-being of pilgrims.

Saudi Arabia

• About: It is a country in West Asia. 
• Coverage: It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2150000 km2 (830000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia and the largest in the Middle East.
• Bordered by: The Red Sea to the west; 

oJordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; 

oPersian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; 

oOman to the southeast; 

oand Yemen to the south.

oThe Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel.

• Capital: Riyadh
• Five Terrestrial Ecoregions: Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert, Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna, Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands, Arabian Desert, and Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert.