I've been fairly curious about this. The last thing I had heard was that MBZ (UAE leader) was excited about MBS's (Saudi Leader) ascendance due to sharing a lot of the same attitudes in foreign and domestic policy. Summarized, my perception was that MBZ was like "finally" and thought that MBS would bring Saudi Arabia more in line with his vision for the region
But it seems like their interests have diverged? The UAE was so unhappy with the Saudi backed government in Yemen that they decided to back a third faction instead (Southern Nationalists). Though the Southern Nationalists and Saudi Backed government are now working together, they still remain separate factions with different interests
And even further, apparently they are outright betting on opposite horses in Sudan, though the UAE seems to be far more active in supporting the RSF than the Saudis are supporting the Sudanese government
Finally, we can obviously look at statements. In 2023, MBS threatened to blockade the UAE, saying the UAE stabbed them in the back. Meanwhile, the UAE criticized Saudi Iran normalization since they were apparently left out of the loop
So I was wondering what happened? Why are the strategies of these two countries diverging? Will we see some sort of formal break? An informal competition over who would lead the Sunni states? Or are these just small bumps in the road and the UAE and Saudi Arabia may align more closely in the future?
https://old.reddit.com/r/geopolitics/comments/1d3x35l/whats_going_on_with_the_saudiuae_relationship/
1 Comment
You nailed it already towards the end.
UAE and Saudi Arabia are irritated with each other because although they are similar both are vying for more influence, with Saudi Arabia in particular interested in being a regional super power. Furthermore both are fighting tooth and nail for more investments as they try to diversify their economies as soon as possible. Mix all these factors together and you get what you’re seeing.