Mohammed’s view
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are sending large delegations of ministers, royals, and business leaders to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Finance, economic development, and technology are the top commercial priorities, but regional geopolitics are the bigger concern, with a long list of crises consuming the Middle East: Gaza, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen.
Underlying many of them is the widening rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Gulf’s two largest economies are now openly at odds after the collapse of their coalition in Yemen. The public sparring is the sharpest between Gulf countries since the embargo of Qatar ended in 2021.
Each side has their own framing. Analysts sympathetic to Riyadh say Saudi policy is to defend state sovereignty and regional order, accusing Abu Dhabi of empowering secessionists to maintain influence in failing states. Those on the UAE’s side argue Saudi Arabia has aligned itself with an Islamist axis led by Ankara, Doha, and Islamabad, while Abu Dhabi (and Israel) are left to confront political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Both are US allies and partners, so President Donald Trump could arbitrate. But until he weighs in, the gloves are off. Saudi media has been given space to air accusations of Abu Dhabi’s “recklessness and crimes” in Yemen and Sudan. A prominent UAE academic has called for an emergency Gulf Cooperation Council meeting to deal with what he described as dangerous media incitement.
Davos won’t deliver a conclusion to these conflicts, which in any case pale in comparison to the fracas over Greenland and NATO. Whatever happens, the dialogue in the Swiss Alps will be spirited.
Notable
- This year’s World Economic Forum will feature many firsts — Trump’s first in-person attendance of his second term, and a first for many UN leaders, making Davos more relevant than ever, writes Mina Al-Orabi, editor-in-chief at The National.