Decisive and unified Arab action is preventing a serious situation in Yemen from getting much worse. The key to this action is the UAE’s close alliance with Saudi Arabia, which is a natural part of the UAE’s backing of pan-Arab action to support people’s rights, justice and the people’s legitimate aspirations for security, stability and development.

This week His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, made an important statement when meeting leaders of the Yemeni National Resistance, during which he reiterated the unwavering stance of the UAE in support of the Yemeni people, their national will and their legitimate government.

Shaikh Mohammad also described the stance of Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz as a historic development in that “a pan-Arab national agenda is capable of countering the challenges in the region, in contrast to the private and limited agendas that are responsible for many setbacks and for the surrounding disintegration that threatens our future as much as it does the future of our children.”

The successful regional response to the crisis in Yemen has shown both Arab governments and the world powers watching the situation in the Arab world that such a regional force can take effective action and seek a solution without recourse to a superpower.

Another important strand of Shaikh Mohammad’s statement was his praise for the strength of UAE-Saudi relations as part of the Arab Coalition in Yemen and he described the cooperation between the two countries as a “source of light that guides us all to serve the interests of the Arab World as the Arab World faces difficult challenges that spare none of us and could very well face the coming generations if we do not have a unified stance.”

The UAE is helping to lead the Arab counter-attack on the forces that want to destroy nation states and take advantage of the subsequent chaos.