UAE vice president visits Saudi Arabia in first visit since rift

On Tuesday, UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan made history by becoming the first senior UAE official to visit Saudi Arabia since a deep rift emerged between the two Gulf powers last year. The visit, initiated by Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, took place amid mounting pressure on Riyadh from Iran-backed Houthis, who have been launching missiles and drones at the kingdom with increasing frequency.

Sheikh Mansour met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the kingdom's defense minister during his visit. The discussions focused on topics of mutual interest and ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two nations, according to a statement from the Saudi defense ministry on X/Twitter. Subsequently, Sheikh Mansour met with the Crown Prince to review the "fraternal relations" between the two countries and discuss regional developments.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia had been at odds over various issues, including geopolitics and oil policy, for several years. Their disagreements came to a head in December when a UAE-backed separatist group made significant advances near Saudi borders in southern Yemen. Saudi Arabia denounced the UAE's involvement and retaliated by carrying out an airstrike on a UAE-linked weapons shipment in the Yemeni port city of Mukalla.

Despite withdrawing its forces from Yemen, tensions between the two Gulf nations persist, as Yemen has been embroiled in a 12-year civil war since the Houthis seized the capital Sana'a, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention.