UAE People & Politics: UAE’s unity with Saudi crucial as Kingdom embarks on emphatic agenda

Talks this week between main players in both countries shows that Saudi Arabia, keen to develop into a hyper-modern society, wants to learn from the UAE's experiences, while the UAE also looks to share counter-terrorism intelligence with its neighbour.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy National Security Adviser, met this week with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

The meeting in Jeddah follows Prince Mohammed’s trail-blazing visits to Russia and France for talks on regional security, as well as on Moscow and Paris’s investment in the kingdom. The Kremlin and the French recognise Saudi Arabia’s place in the Arab and regional order, and the UAE plays an important role in partnership with Saudi Arabia.

The UAE is supporting Riyadh during a critical time, through Operation Restore Hope in Yemen and through dealing with threats from ISIL extremists within its own borders.

Unity is key and that is demonstrated by the fact that UAE forces are fighting alongside Saudis on the latter’s southern border with Yemen. When an Emirati died in a training exercise in that region last week, unity, again, was what was shown.

Sheikh Tahnoon is one of the creative forces behind the UAE’s national security and economic strategy. He is responsible for a range of initiatives, and so it was no surprise that he should have met with Saudi’s deputy crown prince, as Abu Dhabi seeks to help the kingdom in various arenas, including geopolitics and economics.

Prince Mohammed’s visits to Russia and France were successful. He agreed to billions of dollars of investments, while Abu Dhabi is part of Saudi Arabia’s bridge to the world.

The kingdom is on a path to making reforms across all sectors of society and the economy. Government-level reforms have started, with changes that include the merger of the ministry of education and the higher ministry of education into a new, streamlined entity, and also the appointment of technocrats from the country’s oil company, Aramco, into cabinet positions. The opening of the Saudi Tadawul, the country’s stock exchange, to foreign investors is also a significant development.

That Abu Dhabi can help Saudi Arabia with Russian and French interests in the kingdom is undeniable. Abu Dhabi’s own relationships with Moscow and Paris are notable for cooperation on a number of hot-button issues, including Iran, the Levant, Yemen and North Africa but also in terms of food security, banking, health and energy, including oil, gas and nuclear.

An even bigger issue than foreign investment is fighting violent extremism. ISIL and other extremists are a threat to both countries and coordinating counter-terrorism measures and expertise is a necessity. Two years ago, the UAE and Saudi Arabia signed an intelligence-sharing agreement. The UAE can share with Saudi Arabia its experience of surveillance and other measures. These will be vital for the kingdom, which, in the wake of recent ISIL attacks, is now installing cameras around mosques.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are promoting a united front as the region around them mutates. Russia and France are part of the picture. The UAE is also a success story in terms of national unity, as Saudi Arabia begins to develop a similar norm based on national values and possibly compulsory military service.

The UAE is a neighbour that the kingdom’s new chain of command can utilise in their efforts to build a modern Saudi society in quick time.

Dr Theodore Karasik is a UAE-based geopolitical analyst and commentator on UAE foreign affairs.