Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎186v] (373/540)

22
pilgrimage from the Dutch East Indies was a severe blow to the finances of the
Saudi Government in 1932. Despite their efforts to stimulate the flow of pilgrims
by propaganda, the numbers in 1933 promised to be very much smaller still.
77. Nothing of interest is known regarding any business side to the Saudi
mission’s visit to Holland. The only other matter to note is one not strictly
relevant to the affairs of Saudi Arabia, viz., that it appears to be becoming ^re
settled practice for the Netherlands representative in Jedda to pay an annual’*'
visit to Sana. M. van der Meulen went there in the course of an extensive tour
in 1931. M. Adriaanse went again in the spring of 1932 to deliver Queen
Wilhelmina’s reply to a letter from the Imam, and was to go again early in 1933
for a similar purpose.
Soviet Russia. 'f
78. The references made to Ibn Sand’s relations with Soviet Russia during
the Saudi mission’s stay in London are recorded in paragraph 62 (e). When the
mission reached the Russian frontier it was greeted by brass bands which played
the “ Internationale ” and various Arabian airs. Its reception in Moscow was
duly ceremonious, but no great prominence was given to the visit in the press
apart from an article in the Izvestiya on post-war developments in the Hejaz.
The mission travelled through Transcaucasia on its way to Persia, and the Amir
in his final thank-you telegram referred to the special impression made on its
members “ by the oil derricks and the technique of getting oil, a product so
beneficial to humanity.”
79. During the Ibn Rifada episode, the Russian Minister in Jedda
appeared deliberately to avoid contact with the British Legation. About the
same time M. Turakoulov seemed to be engaged in negotiations with the Saudi
Government, probably with a view to a commercial understanding and a quid
pro quo for the removal of restrictions on Russian trade in the shape of a loan
(compare paragraph 62 (e)). There is no evidence that he achieved any definite
result, nor has the Soviet Government so far got a penny for the benzine, &c.,
supplied to Ibn Saud under a special arrangement in 1931. The Russian
Legation appears, however, to devote pains to the cultivation of Saudi official
circles. The non-Moslem, who acted for the Minister during a longish absence
on leave early in the year, was seen playing football with the Amir Feisal in
February, and the Minister himself almost always uses Arab head-dress.
80. The Soviet Government may be expected to persevere in their efforts to
obtain a commercial understanding with the Saudi Government. Their interest
in trade in the Red Sea was illustrated by the publication in their official trade
journal in December 1931 of a special article on the foreign trade of the Hejaz.
They may also be expected to do anything they can to discredit Great Britain in
. the eyes of Ibn Saud. The Ibn Rifada affair provided the opportunity for a
I calumnious article in the Izvestiya of the 21st June on alleged British intrigues
I against him.
Egypt.
81. There is no indication of progress towards a rapprochement between
Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In June 1932 the Acting Saudi Minister for Foreign
Affairs, speaking confidentially to Sir Andrew Ryan, accused Hafiz Amer Bey,
the Egyptian consul in Jedda, of being implicated in the general plot against
Ibn Saud, and in the earlier conversations regarding the Ibn Rifada affair he
used very hot language about the unfriendly attitude of Egypt. He indeed spoke
of breaking off relations. The sedative language of Sir Andrew Ryan, and the
measures taken by the Egyptian Government to prevent assistance reaching the
rebels from their territory, induced a calmer mood. It is interesting to note on
the other side that, when the Egyptian Government conceived doubts as to the
legal propriety of some of their measures in regard to shipping, their motive
would appear to have been partly political. They were apprehensive of seeming
to recognise Ibn Saud. The collapse of Ibn Rifada, while the legal question was
being considered, fortunately obviated a continuance of the measures.
82. There was probably no foundation for Sheikh Yussuf Yasin’s accusa
tion against the Egyptian consul. The latter is, however, avowedly hostile to the
Saudi regime and is unlikely to be an instrument of rapprochement. He returned
to Jedda after a very long absence in June, but left again in November and was