زيارة أخوية" رفيعة المستوى بين الرياض وأبوظبي تختبر فرص تجاوز الخلافات
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On Monday, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz invited Emirati Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit the Kingdom on Tuesday, in the highest-profile announced visit between the two sides since the escalation of tension in relations last year, a step that reflects openness to revitalizing communication between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
The visit is of special importance because it comes at the invitation of the Saudi Minister of Defense, which is likely that security and military files will top the agenda of the discussions, especially developments in Yemen and the security of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The text of the invitation published by the Saudi News Agency “SPA” stated: “His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, extended an invitation to his brother, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the sisterly United Arab Emirates, Deputy Prime Minister, and Head of the Presidential Office, to visit the Kingdom tomorrow, Tuesday.”
The official Emirates News Agency (WAM) confirmed that bin Zayed will go to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday “on a fraternal visit” at the invitation of the Minister of Defense.
The visit comes at a time when Yemen is witnessing rapid field transformations, which puts the two countries before a new test of the possibility of coordinating their positions regarding the future of the conflict and security arrangements in the south of the country.
It also comes in light of the return of escalation between Saudi Arabia, which supports the government in Yemen, and the Ansar Allah Houthi group, after years of calm.
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The Saudi and Emirati allies turned into rivals last year, against the backdrop of the conflict in Yemen, where each of the two countries supported a different party in the southern confrontations. Disagreements have also emerged in many foreign political files, especially in Sudan and the Horn of Africa, where they support competing powers.
This Saudi initiative came at a time when the Kingdom has been suffering from continuous attacks for weeks launched by the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen, targeting oil tankers, oil installations, airports, and even the capital with missiles and marches, especially after the group took control of the Red Sea coast after seizing it from the Yemeni government forces supported by Saudi Arabia.
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It is worth noting that the Kingdom has sought during the past weeks to obtain the assistance of its international allies regarding the situation in Yemen.
The New York Times reported that the Saudi Crown Prince called Trump to “again appeal” to help confront the group’s advances, and Axios previously reported that Trump had rejected a similar request the previous week.
Meanwhile, the military chiefs of staff of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks on ways to support Riyadh, in light of the Houthis in Yemen escalating their attacks against the world's largest exporter of crude oil.
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Relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia witnessed a public row in December, when the kingdom accused Abu Dhabi of threatening its national security by supporting southern separatists in Yemen, who planned a lightning attack.
The two Gulf neighbors also differ in their positions on the war and Iran, as the UAE took a more assertive stance and expressed tough demands regarding any potential agreement, while Saudi Arabia supported Pakistan’s mediation efforts that led to the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran in June.
Given that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the two largest countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council in terms of the size of the economy and population, it was also natural for there to be competition between them, especially with a new generation of rulers in the two countries, whose goals, ambitions and vision sometimes conflict with their counterparts in the other country.
Despite the increasing competition in attracting international investments and companies, the economic relations between the two countries remain among the largest in the region, as each of them constitutes a major trading partner for the other.
In light of the tension, last July there were public messages of friendliness between the two countries, as officials and ministers posted comments and pictures on their social media accounts carrying messages of friendship and unity.
