Saudi, UAE boost ties via co-ordination council

During its first official meeting in Jeddah last month, the Saudi-Emirati Co-ordination Council (SECC) announced a joint vision for economic, developmental and military integration.

Al-Azm Strategy, formulated over the course of a year by government officials from both countries and presented on June 6th, will focus on achieving this objective through 44 joint projects in various sectors.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed attended the first official meeting of the council, which was established in 2017, along with senior officials from both governments.

Bilateral co-operation between Saudi Arabia and the UAE will have a substantial regional impact, said Abdullah al-Dakhil, a lecturer at King Saud University's faculty of political sciences.

The two countries have common allies and therefore "the base of co-operation will expand in the region to include a number of impactful countries in the Middle East, particularly the Gulf States, Egypt and Jordan", he told Al-Mashareq.

The SECC comprises 16 ministers representing various sectors including trade, energy, industry, finance, investment, foreign affairs, planning and education.

It has set a number of objectives that will be achieved through 44 joint projects, each of which has a five-year implementation timeframe, al-Dakhil said.

Twenty-two agreements have been signed so far to begin work on the projects, he said, "the most important of which relate to the upgrade of the education system in both countries, given the importance of education to development".

The agreements also include comprehensive co-operation in the security, military and political domains, he added.

"The sectors that will receive ample attention include the infrastructure, the logistics sector, tourism, national heritage and entrepreneurship, as they are sectors that directly benefit the citizens of the two countries," al-Dakhil said.

'Tremendous impetus to growth'

Activating UAE-Saudi co-operation through the Al-Azm Strategy will "provide tremendous impetus to the economic growth process in Saudi Arabia and the UAE", Qassim University lecturer Yasser al-Muhanna told Al-Mashareq.

Economic projects represent a significant portion of the agreement, he said.

"This agreement will lead to the establishment of a type of economic integration through which the resources of both countries would be exploited," he said.

"The Saudi-Emirati co-operation at this stage, through Al-Azm Strategy and the SECC, will yield security benefits for both countries," Col. Rashid Mohammed al-Marri, formerly of the Dubai Police Anti-Narcotics Department, told Al-Mashareq.

"The region is going through a very sensitive period in its history due to the security, political and military challenges that now pose a threat to the national security of both countries," he said.

Confronting these threats will be "easier and more comprehensive with this kind of co-operation", he added.