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Arab leaders during the Abu Dhabi summit
As soon as the UAE announced the final statement of the Abu Dhabi Summit, which was hosted by the UAE capital, on Wednesday, social networking sites in the Emirates and some Gulf countries were buzzing with questions about the reasons for the absence of the Saudi crown prince.
Tweeters speculated about the existence of differences between Saudi Arabia and its first ally, the Emirates, while others confirmed that Saudi Arabia was absent from setting new conditions in the file of aid to the Egyptian authorities, while a third team pointed out that the meeting discussed Iranian threats in the region away from any Gulf disputes.
What happened at the top?
The curtain fell on the urgent Arab Gulf summit hosted by Abu Dhabi, in which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, President of the UAE, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman, King Hamad bin Isa of Bahrain, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, Emir of Qatar, and King Abdullah participated The second is the king of Jordan.
The UAE’s official news agency indicated that it was “a consultative summit to strengthen relations between the countries of the participating brothers and ways and means of discussing paths of cooperation and joint coordination in all fields,” without going into any details of the meeting.
- The meeting lasted only a few hours, and the Saudi king and crown prince were absent from it. The UAE described it as “fraternal, consultative.”
- According to the UAE statement, “during the meeting, the leaders discussed various paths of joint cooperation and coordination in all fields that serve the aspirations of their peoples for a future in which they will enjoy further development, progress and prosperity.”
- They also reviewed a number of regional and international issues and developments of common interest and the challenges the region is witnessing politically, security and economically, and the importance of coordinating positions and strengthening joint Arab action in dealing with these challenges in order to ensure building a more stable and prosperous future for all the peoples of the region.
- The invitation to hold this meeting came less than 24 hours after the tripartite summit that Cairo hosted on Tuesday, and brought together the Egyptian President with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen, and the Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, where they discussed “developments of the Palestinian cause in light of the Israeli developments and violations it is exposed to.” From the new government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Interact on social media
Tweeters asked about the reasons for the absence of Saudi Arabia and the presence of Oman?
Others believed that “the difference in policies between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh is the reason for the latter’s absence from the meeting.”
Turki Shalhoub said, “Relations between Mohammed bin Zayed and bin Salman are very deteriorating because of Yemen and oil, and bad with Egypt because of Tiran and Sanafir.”
“no disagreements”
On the other hand, tweeters denied the existence of any disagreement between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and confirmed that “Mohammed bin Salman is in the United States to attend another meeting there.”
While others saw that “the UAE and Saudi Arabia are allies, and the existence of one is indispensable for the other.”
Nisri Barham denied the existence of any disagreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and confirmed that “there was a meeting between the Saudi crown prince and the Egyptian president a few days ago.”
Syrian writer Muhammad al-Huwaidi said that those who promote the existence of a Saudi-Emirati dispute due to Saudi Arabia’s absence from the Abu Dhabi summit are “biased and delusional” and that “the relations between the two countries are lofty and solid.”
Iran and the Gulf Threat
However, a third team linked the Gulf Consultative Summit in Abu Dhabi to the Iranian file in the region.
Muhammad Muzaffar said, “The meeting discussed potential Iranian threats to the Gulf.”
UAE and Saudi Arabia relations
- Saudi Arabia and the UAE are neighbors and their historical relationship is friendly. During the reign of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, relations between them witnessed remarkable development in the political, military and economic fields, due to their common goals and their leadership of the Arab coalition countries in the war on Yemen.
- In May 2014, a joint supreme committee was established headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, and in the same month of 2016 an agreement was signed to establish a joint coordinating council on matters of common interest.
- In June 2018, Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched the “Strategy of Resolve”, which includes a joint vision for economic and developmental integration, as the Kingdom’s GDP reached $786.5 billion, followed by the UAE with a GDP of $414 billion.
- While the trade and economic relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia are the largest among the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as Saudi Arabia is the first Arab trade partner and the third globally for the UAE.
- The Saudi Logistics Center launched a government initiative in November 2019 to support the growth of the logistics services sector in the Kingdom in cooperation with the UAE, to benefit from its expertise as a leader in logistics services.
- On November 28, 2019, Saudi Arabia and the UAE discussed the construction of a crude oil refinery in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at a cost of no less than $70 billion.
- The UAE is at the forefront of countries investing in Saudi Arabia, with a total value of more than 34 billion dirhams, and there are more than 30 Emirati companies and investment groups that are implementing major projects.
- Direct Saudi investments in the UAE have exceeded 16 billion dirhams, and the two countries are also focusing on using advanced technology to boost economic growth as part of broader development plans, especially across the energy, telecommunications, automotive and construction sectors.