Several sovereigns in the Middle East and North Africa could see negative ratings action in the near future and there is a risk that governments' willingness to service debt could be impacted, Standard & Poor's said on Monday.

'There are a number of sovereigns where we could see negative ratings action but all cases will of course depend on events,' Kai Stuckenbrock, director in S&P's EMEA sovereign ratings group, told a teleconference.

'If you look at ratings on sovereigns where we have taken rating action recently all have negative credit watch or outlook. The former signifies relative short-term risk that ratings could move in a downward direction.'

He added: 'The risk (is) that political upheaval and weaking of institutions could weaken sovereign willingness to service debt.'

S&P said however it was not overly worried about Saudi Arabia though risks of upheaval are present in the world's largest oil exporter. S&P rates Saudi Arabia at AA- with stable outlook.

'We are not very worried about...potential negative implications for credit ratings,' said Christian Esters, also a director in the EMEA sovereign ratings group.-Reuters