Abu Dhabi: The UAE-Saudi Arabia strategic partnership is time-honoured and represents a model that has succeeded in creating a cohesive regional bloc, which may lead to an aspired Gulf union, according to writers and academics.
“UAE and Saudi Arabia set up a strategic partnership, based on more than political positions or interests in common. The two allies’ time-honoured relationship is built on political and cultural awareness and on a shared foundation,” Fahd Bin Hassan Al Agran, Editor-in-Chief of the Saudi Al Madinah Arabic daily told Gulf News on Sunday.
Al Agran added Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a shared vision in political ideology and economic and military strategies based on wise and moderate policies. “Now after Operation Restoring Hope the two countries know they have sources of power including their deep-rooted ties, economy and regional and international relations, which can be used to protect the Arabs from opportunistic plans which would jeopardise the region’s stability,” he said.
Al Agran stressed that the Saudi-UAE partnership can facilitate economic, political, social, military and security integration that would ultimately lead to a Gulf union.
Al Agran said King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia’s Gulf tour ahead of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Bahrain this month will press ahead with the aspired Gulf union.
In December 2011, then Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz had said that it was time for the GCC member states to move from the phase of cooperation to the phase of union within a single entity.
The GCC countries could set up a core union of some of the six member states and the other members could join at their own pace, as Oman did not support the union.
Nasser Bin Abdul Rahman Al Haqbani, managing editor of the London-based Asharq Al Awsat Arabic daily, quoted His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as saying on his Twitter account that ‘UAE-Saudi relations exceeded diplomatic ties, they become like one body with limbs supporting each other’.
Al Haqbani said he believed the UAE-Saudi Arabia joint council, which held its first meeting in Riyadh last month, will pave the way for economic integration among the six GCC members.
“The time-honoured ties set up by late Shaikh Zayed and late King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz were pulled tighter in May with the setting up of a joint council to coordinate efforts and bolster links between the two countries,” he said.
The council was established at a meeting in Jeddah between King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Al Haqbani said the council shows how strategically important the Saudi-UAE relationship is in terms of economics and shaping a shared vision for the region.
Mohammad Bin Hassan Al Shehri, Editor-in-Chief of The Citizen online newspaper, said the relationship between the UAE and Saudi Arabia runs far deeper than fostering close economic ties. “The two countries have stood as loyal and inseparable allies in confronting the challenges that face the Gulf region. In a turbulent region, UAE and Saudi Arabia have acted as one, fighting the forces of instability and they will stand as one against those who threaten their economic or political unity,” Al Shehri said.
He added that the bonds between the countries were based on their common will to achieve security and stability in the region.
“The visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the UAE comes within the context of reinforcing cooperation and continuous consultations between the two countries on issues of mutual interest,” Al Shehri said. “Saudi Arabia and the UAE represent a glowing example of fraternity and cooperation in all fields.”
