Saudi Arabia and UAE attempt to normalize relations against Houthi threats after resolving conflict in Yemen

(Cairo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = Amid growing armed provocations by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, Saudi Arabia suddenly invited a top-ranking figure from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Attention is being paid to whether the blatant conflict between the two countries, which broke out over leadership in southern Yemen early this year, can be resolved and cooperation can be reestablished against the Houthis and Iran, which threaten the security of the Gulf.

According to foreign media such as Reuters on the 28th (local time), Saudi Arabia's Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman officially invited UAE Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the 29th.

The UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported that Vice President Sheikh Mansour accepted the invitation and will make a friendly visit to Saudi Arabia on the 29th.

Minister Khalid bin Salman is the younger brother of Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Vice President Sheikh Mansour is the younger brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Emir of Abu Dhabi.

This invitation came at a time when the Houthi rebels have recently taken control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea, threatening Saudi Arabia's oil export routes and carrying out large-scale offensives targeting the Saudi mainland.

What is noteworthy is that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had been in serious conflict over the Yemen situation until just a few months ago.

The two countries, which had boasted of a strong alliance as the core axis of the Arab coalition forces in the early days of their intervention in the Yemeni civil war in 2015, have made a rupture over control of the southern region of Yemen and post-war leadership.

The core of the conflict was the separatist forces in southern Yemen. Saudi Arabia attempted to focus on its top priority, defeating the Houthi rebels by supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government, but the UAE sought to expand its own influence by intensively supporting armed forces under the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which advocates independence for southern Yemen.

In particular, the conflict between the two countries reached a peak early this year when these southern separatist forces carried out independent military operations against Saudi-backed government forces and sparked an armed conflict.

At the time, Saudi Arabia judged that the provocations of the separatist forces not only collapsed the coalition against Houthis, but also posed a direct threat to Saudi Arabia's national security.

The Saudi authorities strongly criticized the UAE, in fact pointing to the UAE as the mastermind behind these actions, and as relations between the two countries cooled rapidly, the UAE eventually took the plunge and withdrew its troops stationed in Yemen.

The two countries also had a conflict during the Iran War. The UAE, which suffered the most airstrikes by Iran among the Middle Eastern countries, insisted on a strong military response, but Saudi Arabia's lukewarm attitude exposed cracks. It has been reported that Saudi Arabia also rejected the UAE's request for air defense network support.

In addition, as the UAE withdrew from the Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on May 1, the relationship between the two countries became strained to its peak.

The conflict was resolved in July when several ministers and high-ranking officials from both countries posted posts on social media highlighting the friendship between the two countries.

Diplomats believe that in a situation where the military threat from the Houthi rebels is approaching Saudi Arabia and the sense of crisis of escalation of war in the Middle East is increasing, Saudi Arabia is attempting to reach out to the UAE, which had been strained, to establish solidarity and normalize relations.