Why Saudi Arabia and the UAE can't stop the Yemen war | The Economist

The historically close relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has soured into a self-defeating rivalry driven by personal animosity between Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed. While Saudi Arabia pursues a traditionalist foreign policy focused on state sovereignty and regional leadership, the UAE operates as a dynamic middle power prioritizing commercial hubs and non-state partnerships. This friction manifests in Yemen, where Saudis back national unity while Emiratis support southern separatists, and in Sudan, where their competing support for the army versus the Rapid Support Forces fuels a humanitarian disaster. Furthermore, both nations' aggressive acquisition of arable land in the Horn of Africa to ensure food security has backfired; by destabilizing the region through proxy conflicts, they have triggered famines and threatened the very sea lanes essential for their own imports.