Key Highlights
- The rupture between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, two Gulf heavyweights which were never very close, has come out in the open especially involving recent developments in southern Yemen with Riyadh accusing Abu Dhabi of supporting secessionist forces that are seeking to carve out a separate Southern State.
- The two nations, which are part of the Arab Coalition that attacked the Houthis in northern Yemen, have been trying to outdo each other to covertly wrest control over the oil-rich southern Yemen region, and thereby the vital Red Sea corridor and the Bab al-Mandab crossing through which a major chunk of international trade flows.
- In recent weeks, especially in December 2025, rapid military and political developments in southern Yemen saw rising calls for the creation of a separate southern state, which led to Saudi Arabia unleashing aerial assaults on the region and accusing UAE of supporting secessionism.
- The UAE backed out rapidly from the region, with the result that it has been left alone, with Riyadh forming a clique along with Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt.
- Amidst this backdrop, the UAE’s outreach to India comes as New Delhi is seen as a stable and reliable partner.
