Relationship dossier
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Relationship assessment
Close cooperation alongside recurring strategic and economic competition
Saudi Arabia toward United Arab Emirates
+20Saudi Arabia has coordinated with the United Arab Emirates through the bilateral coordination council and partnered with it in the coalition intervention in Yemen. Saudi policy has also diverged from Emirati preferences over Yemen and oil-production arrangements, including during the 2021 OPEC+ negotiations.
United Arab Emirates toward Saudi Arabia
+20The United Arab Emirates has partnered with Saudi Arabia in the Yemen coalition and through bilateral coordination mechanisms. Emirati policy has at times diverged from Saudi priorities in Yemen, while the UAE's 2021 OPEC+ position exposed disagreement over oil-production quotas.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship combines sustained security and economic coordination with recurring differences over Yemen and oil policy, as well as competition for regional influence. These features support a cooperative but not consistently aligned bilateral relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have maintained substantial security and economic cooperation, including joint participation in the Yemen intervention and the creation of a bilateral coordination council. Their partnership has also faced friction over Yemen and oil-production policy, particularly during the 2021 OPEC+ negotiations. Cooperation remains significant, but the relationship includes visible strategic and economic competition.
Areas of tension
- Divergent priorities and partners in Yemen, including Emirati support for southern forces and Saudi backing for Yemen's internationally recognized government.
- Disagreement over OPEC+ production quotas and the UAE's baseline during negotiations in 2021.
- Competition over regional influence and economic positioning.
Key developments
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates established the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council to deepen bilateral cooperation.
Both countries participated in the coalition intervention in Yemen, although their priorities and local partners later diverged.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia publicly disagreed over production baselines during OPEC+ negotiations.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which bilateral coordination mechanisms continue to shape policy is unclear.
- The durability of cooperation amid competition over regional influence and economic strategy is uncertain.