Is Saudi Arabia And UAE Same Country

They are both seeking to escape the shackles of rentier economics into a post-hydrocarbon future before the global market makes oil unprofitable. They are dominated by powerful royal personalities — Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi — who both agree that regional reform does not include political liberalization. These commonalities have propelled a close relationship both between the two rulers — the Emirati crown prince has been a mentor to his younger Saudi counterpart — and their countries' foreign policies. For more than two decades, the Gulf monarchies have found themselves at the center of countless geopolitical, economic, and strategic challenges at the regional level. Among these, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have emerged as pivotal actors in the climate of strong transformations taking place in the whole MENA area. This trend has often led them to act and move in coordination but has also sometimes caused noisy and unthinkable misalignments.

One of the most remarkable occurred in July during the summit of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries , which was also extended to include international players who are not part of the world energy cartel. The reason for tension concerned the proposal – mainly supported by Saudi Arabia and Russia – to increase oil production to 400,000 barrels a day from August, combined with the idea of extending the agreement on production cuts until the end of 2022. These two solutions would avoid large fluctuations in crude oil prices and keep them relatively high for the coming year, but they have been firmly rejected by the UAE. Indeed, Abu Dhabi is less dependent on oil revenues than its Saudi counterpart – the sector accounts for 42% of Riyadh's gross domestic product , compared to 30% of Abu Dhabi's GDP – and intends to use the discussion to achieve better terms within OPEC+.

With the rise of MBS in Saudi Arabia, this pattern appears to have shifted. Together, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi led the military intervention in Yemen, sought to internationally isolate Qatar, and worked to present a united front against Iranian, Turkish and Islamist influence in the region. Both have also backed up, cheered on or actively promoted each other's economic and foreign political endeavours. The UAE welcomed and championed Saudi Arabia's Agenda Vision 2030, which aims to transform the Kingdom's society and economy along lines familiar from the Emirates' own development model. In turn, Riyadh backed the UAE's assertive regional foreign policy, including the normalisation of ties with Israel. The UAE's dependence on oil is a significant long-term challenge, although the UAE is one of the most diversified countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Low oil prices have prompted the UAE to cut expenditures, including on some social programs, but the UAE has sufficient assets in its sovereign investment funds to cover its deficits. The government reduced fuel subsidies in August 2015, and introduced excise taxes (50% on sweetened carbonated beverages and 100% on energy drinks and tobacco) in October 2017. From 2005 to 2015, King ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud incrementally modernized the Kingdom.

These reforms have accelerated under King SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz, who ascended to the throne in 2015, and has since lifted the Kingdom's ban on women driving and allowed cinemas to operate for the first time in decades. Saudi Arabia saw some protests during the 2011 Arab Spring but not the level of bloodshed seen in protests elsewhere in the region. Shia Muslims in the Eastern Province protested primarily against the detention of political prisoners, endemic discrimination, and Bahraini and Saudi Government actions in Bahrain.

Riyadh took a cautious but firm approach by arresting some protesters but releasing most of them quickly and by using its state-sponsored clerics to counter political and Islamist activism. The assertiveness of the new Saudi measures thus seems to bring concrete risks to the UAE's economic superiority, prompting them to respond immediately with several policies benefiting foreign companies. Today, however, the government of Abu Dhabi wants to go further, aiming at the development of the real estate and infrastructural sectors – above all transport – in a sustainable manner . At the same time, also Saudi Arabia considers the attraction of international investors as a priority. However, Riyadh is still far behind Abu Dhabi, given that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announced the ambitious plan "Vision 2030" – which includes a willingness to boost the global investment market and an economic diversification strategy – in 2016 only. Nevertheless, Saudi authorities hope to catch up with the delay soon, also planning to implement new legal reforms based on credit structures.

The government held its first-ever elections in 2005 and 2011, when Saudis went to the polls to elect municipal councilors. In December 2015, women were allowed to vote and stand as candidates for the first time in municipal council elections, with 19 women winning seats. After King SALMAN ascended to the throne in 2015, he placed the first next-generation prince, MUHAMMAD BIN NAYIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, in the line of succession as Crown Prince. He designated his son, MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, as the Deputy Crown Prince. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of 10 countries in a military campaign to restore the legitimate government of Yemen, which had been ousted by Huthi forces allied with former president ALI ABDULLAH al-Salih.

The war in Yemen has drawn international criticism for civilian casualties and its effect on the country's dire humanitarian situation. In December 2015, then Deputy Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN announced Saudi Arabia would lead a 34-nation Islamic Coalition to fight terrorism . In May 2017, Saudi Arabia inaugurated the Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology (also known as "Etidal") as part of its ongoing efforts to counter violent extremism.

Is Saudi Arabia and UAE same country The UAE's monetary policy stresses stability and predictability, as the Central Bank of the UAE keeps a peg to the US Dollar and moves interest rates close to the Federal Funds Rate. This policy makes sense in the current situation of global and regional economic and geopolitical uncertainty. In the mid- to long term, however, the peg will become less important, as the UAE transitions to a knowledge-based economy – and becomes yet more independent from the oil and gas sector . The United States has had friendly relations with the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) since 1971, following its formation and independence from the United Kingdom. The U.A.E. plays an influential role in the Middle East, and is a key partner for the United States. The United States and the U.A.E. enjoy strong bilateral cooperation on a full range of issues including defense, non-proliferation, trade, law enforcement, energy policy, and cultural exchange.

The two countries work together to promote peace and security, support economic growth, and improve educational opportunities in the region and around the world. At the same time, several other sectors could be subjected to the KSA-UAE economic competition. The first one is the touristic sector, where Saudi Arabia hopes to strategically insert itself. With its skyscrapers and luxury resorts, Dubai holds the regional record in the tourism industry , but many of the Emirate's main attractions are beginning to be outdated, requiring costly renovations that would also involve foreign capital. Consequently, Riyadh would like to take advantage of this aspect to "steal" tourists from the UAE, also aiming at non-religious forms of tourism.

Many of these are located in the Aseer region, on the Saudi Red Sea coast, where the Kingdom has already started implementing high-profile financial infrastructure plans. Specifically, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has already launched a $3 billion investment project in February 2020, aiming to build 2,700 hotel rooms, 1,300 residential units, and 30 commercial and entertainment attractions in the region by 2030. In addition, on September 28, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declared his intention to expand this project by injecting liquidity into the local market of up to 12 trillion riyals (approximately $3 trillion). Not to mention that, if the construction of the Jeddah Tower is completed in the short term, Saudi Arabia will possess the tallest tower in the world, a clear sign of its ambitions to become competitive in the luxury tourism sector as well. In this regard, another remarkable example can be found by looking at the case of al-Ula, a city in the northwest of the Kingdom.

With more than 27,000 archaeological sites dating back to the Nabatean era, this city carved in stone was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. That is why, to increase its notoriety, Riyad is planning to build a luxury tourist resort within the site itself by 2024, with forty suites, three villas, a conference center, and fourteen private pavilions. In 2017, the Kingdom incurred a budget deficit estimated at 8.3% of GDP, which was financed by bond sales and drawing down reserves.

Although the Kingdom can finance high deficits for several years by drawing down its considerable foreign assets or by borrowing, it has cut capital spending and reduced subsidies on electricity, water, and petroleum products and recently introduced a value-added tax of 5%. In January 2016, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN announced that Saudi Arabia intends to list shares of its state-owned petroleum company, ARAMCO - another move to increase revenue and outside investment. The government has also looked at privatization and diversification of the economy more closely in the wake of a diminished oil market. Historically, Saudi Arabia has focused diversification efforts on power generation, telecommunications, natural gas exploration, and petrochemical sectors.

More recently, the government has approached investors about expanding the role of the private sector in the health care, education and tourism industries. While Saudi Arabia has emphasized their goals of diversification for some time, current low oil prices may force the government to make more drastic changes ahead of their long-run timeline. The United Arab Emirates' oil and natural gas reserves are the world's sixth and seventh-largest, respectively.

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the country's first president, oversaw the development of the Emirates by investing oil revenues into healthcare, education, and infrastructure. The United Arab Emirates has the most diversified economy among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In the 21st century, the country has become less reliant on oil and gas, and is economically focusing on tourism and business. The government does not levy income tax, although there is a corporate tax in place and a 5% value-added tax was established in 2018. The UAE is a politically and economically stable country and holds the 25th position globally in Global Competitiveness Report 2019 by World Economic Forum. In addition, it stands out as one of the 10 largest donor states in official development aid .

Recognised as a tolerant country, the UAE hosts more than 200 nationalities doing business, living, learning and touring the UAE. United Arab Emirates is a country located in the Middle East bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. It has a strategic location along southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for world crude oil. The geography of United Arab Emirates is rolling sand dunes of desert and mountains in the east. The government system is a federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister.

United Arab Emirates has an open market economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined by a free price system. United Arab Emirates is a member of the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council . In preparing for a post-hydrocarbon future, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are simultaneously seeking to develop some of the same sectors, notably tourism, financial services, petrochemicals, and technology. Of the two countries, the UAE made the earlier start and enjoys first-mover advantage in transforming itself into a business, trade, and tourism hub. Of late, however, Saudi Arabia has mounted a challenge, moving to expand its tourism sector and offering a larger market and loosening lifestyle restrictions to attract investors, international companies, and foreign talent. The Emirates have implemented counter-measures, such as issuing new visa rules and switching to a Monday-Friday work week.

The UAE has developed from a juxtaposition of Bedouin tribes to one of the world's most wealthy states in only about 50 years. Between 2000 and 2018, average real gross domestic product growth was at close to 4%. It is the second largest economy in the GCC , with a nominal gross domestic product of US$414.2 billion, and a real GDP of 392.8 billion constant 2010 USD in 2018. Since its independence in 1971, the UAE's economy has grown by nearly 231 times to 1.45 trillion AED in 2013. The non-oil trade has grown to 1.2 trillion AED, a growth by around 28 times from 1981 to 2012. Backed by the world's seventh-largest oil deposits, and thanks to considerate investments combined with decided economic liberalism and firm Government control, the UAE has seen their real GDP more than triple in the last four decades.

Nowadays the UAE is one of the world's richest countries, with GDP per capita almost 80% higher than OECD average. Since the discovery of oil, the GCC region has undergone a profound transformation and is now home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world. Today, the governments of the GCC countries undertake successful efforts to diversify their economies away from dependence on hydrocarbon industries.

These diversified growth sectors, such as finance, logistics, aviation, communications, healthcare and tourism provide abundant business opportunities. Liberal climates towards foreign cooperation, investment and modernization result in extensive diplomatic and commercial relations with other countries. The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds about 16% of the world's proven oil reserves as of 2015.

The government continues to pursue economic reform and diversification, particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in 2005, and promotes foreign investment in the Kingdom. In April 2016, the Saudi Government announced a broad set of socio-economic reforms, known as Vision 2030. Low global oil prices throughout 2015 and 2016 significantly lowered Saudi Arabia's governmental revenue.

In response, the government cut subsidies on water, electricity, and gasoline; reduced government employee compensation packages; and announced limited new land taxes. In coordination with OPEC and some key non-OPEC countries, Saudi Arabia agreed cut oil output in early 2017 to regulate supply and help elevate global prices. While the government may still adjust the exact arrangement of the VAT, it is not likely that any new taxes will be introduced in the foreseeable future. Additional taxes would destroy one of the UAE's main enticements for businesses to operate in the country and put a heavy burden on the economy. The UAE emits a lot of carbon dioxide per person compared to other countries.

The Barakah nuclear power plant is the first on the Arabian peninsula and expected to reduce the carbon footprint of the country. As impressive as economic growth has been in the UAE, the total population has increased from just around 550,000 in 1975 to close to 10 million in 2018. This growth is mainly due to the influx of foreign workers into the country, making the national population a minority. The UAE features a unique labour market system, in which residence in the UAE is conditional on stringent visa rules. This system is a major advantage in terms of macroeconomic stability, as labour supply adjusts quickly to demand throughout economic business cycles.

Human occupation has been traced back to the emergence of anatomically modern humans from Africa some 124,000 BCE through finds at the Faya-2 site in Mleiha, Sharjah. Burial sites dating back to the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age include the oldest known such inland site at Jebel Buhais. Known as Magan to the Sumerians, the area was home to a prosperous Bronze Age trading culture during the Umm Al Nar period which traded between the Indus Valley, Bahrain and Mesopotamia as well as Iran, Bactria and the Levant.

The ensuing Wadi Suq period and three Iron Ages saw the emergence of nomadism as well as the development of water management and irrigation systems supporting human settlement in both the coast and interior. The Islamic age of the UAE dates back to the expulsion of the Sasanians and the subsequent Battle of Dibba. The UAE' history of trade led to the emergence of Julfar, in the present-day emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, as a regional trading and maritime hub in the area. The maritime dominance of the Persian Gulf by Emirati traders led to conflicts with European powers, including the Portuguese Empire and the British Empire.

Looking ahead, Ottawa should be more consistent and transparent in its handling of the issue. The Liberal government should be more forthcoming on the strategic rationale justifying the deal while being transparent on the abysmal state of human rights in Saudi Arabia. By explaining the tensions inherent in making difficult foreign policy choices, it would arguably make a stronger case. The government should also seize the momentum provided by the deal and continue investing in the expansion of Canada's trade ties with Saudi Arabia and the GCC.

Canada should also try to increase the already sizable contingent of Saudi students here, while pursuing more initiatives such as Algonquin College's Saudi campus. Such educational exchanges create networks between young Saudis and Canada and provide them with a quality education emphasizing critical thinking and cosmopolitan values. In the long-term, it is one of the best ways to exert change in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, their simultaneous scramble to build post-oil economies is increasingly bringing the two countries into competition.

One of the most immediate competitive venues is tourism, particularly the non-Hajj sector, where medium- and high-income tourists seek beaches, resorts, and Arabian adventure. While Dubai, the heart of the UAE's tourist industry, is currently light years ahead of Saudi Arabia, the nature of both Dubai's brand and tourism in general means that Saudi Arabia will have a chance to catch up and even steal away the mantle of tourist powerhouse. The UAE is also steadily introducing taxes like VAT, which while currently refundable nevertheless drive up the base costs of visiting the UAE, undermining the sticker price competitiveness of the emirate. These types of taxes are only set to grow as the UAE modernizes its finances, driving up the cost of tourism, particularly in cash-strapped Dubai, which exhausted its oil reserves decades ago. That said, the VAT tax is still very low compared to other places and a cost of doing business for foreigners who seek to avoid the restricted lifestyle in the Saudi kingdom. Arguably the most important article of the GCC charter is Article 4, which states that the alliance was formed to strengthen relations among its member countries and to promote cooperation among the countries' citizens.

The GCC also has a defense planning council that coordinates military cooperation between member countries. The highest decision-making entity of the GCC is the Supreme Council, which meets on an annual basis and consists of GCC heads of state. The Ministerial Council, made up of foreign ministers or other government officials, meets every three months to implement the decisions of the Supreme Council and to propose new policy. The administrative arm of the alliance is the office of the Secretariat-General, which monitors policy implementation and arranges meetings. The right to collective bargaining and the right to strike are not recognised, and the Ministry of Labour has the power to force workers to go back to work. Migrant workers who participate in a strike can have their work permits cancelled and be deported.

Consequently, there are very few anti-discrimination laws in relation to labour issues, with Emiratis – and other GCC Arabs – getting preference in public sector jobs despite lesser credentials than competitors and lower motivation. In fact, just over eighty percent of Emirati workers hold government posts, with many of the rest taking part in state-owned enterprises such as Emirates airlines and Dubai Properties. Throughout April and May, negotiations between the TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change failed to reach an agreement on power sharing. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, alongside other regional actors such as Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea all encouraged the TMC to hold onto power.