Saudi-UAE Rift Deepens at Davos Amid West Asia Tensions

• The World Economic Forum in Davos is dominated by geopolitics, with deepening crises across West Asia.
• A widening rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE is openly on display, stemming from the collapse of their coalition in Yemen.
• Saudi officials accuse the UAE of empowering secessionist movements, while Emirati sympathizers view Saudi Arabia as drifting towards an Islamist axis.
• Despite shared ambitions like economic diversification and countering Iran, rivalry has intensified, particularly over economic competition and regional influence.
• Policy differences, with Saudi Arabia prioritizing de-escalation and the UAE projecting influence via proxies, further widen the gap.

Why It Matters: The Saudi-UAE rivalry is a significant geopolitical development, deepening West Asia tensions at Davos.