As part of bin Salman's ambitions to strengthen the kingdom, the Saudi defense budget is set to rise in the coming years to $86.4 billion in 2028, according to the Global Data report. This will reverse the trend of the past few years, which saw the Saudi defense budget fall to $53.9 billion in 2021.

Analysis: With Saudi-Israel normalisation frozen for now, Riyadh has stepped up its public diplomacy over the Gaza war but is still treading cautiously.