Behind the smiles, competition heats up in the Gulf

Behind the smiles, competition heats up in the Gulf

On Thursday evening, the Burj Khalifa, the signature tower of Dubai, the brash commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates, will light up in the colours of the Saudi Arabian flag to celebrate the kingdom’s national day. 

This follows last Friday’s “brotherly gathering” at the Red Sea of Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, crown prince and day-to-day ruler of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, and Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan, national security adviser and troubleshooter for the UAE. A tweeted photo of the trio in shorts is a study in self-consciousness — unsurprising, given that relations between the three Gulf powers look less than brotherly.

True, in January the Saudis and Emiratis (along with Egypt and Bahrain) lifted a blockade of Qatar imposed in 2017, when they accused the gas-rich emirate of conspiring against them. The failed attempt to crush Qatar belonged to a period of muscular regional behaviour indulged by Donald Trump, before the Gulf realised it could not rely on America for its security. The UAE and the Saudis have started to eschew geopolitical rivalries for economic competition — a contest growing more aggressive by the day. 

Saudi Arabia, although a giant in comparison