UAE Vice-President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Office Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, and met in Riyadh with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, in the first visit by a senior Emirati official to the kingdom since a public dispute emerged between the two Gulf powers over the past year.
The visit came at the invitation of Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, who attended Sheikh Mansour’s meeting with the crown prince. The two sides discussed relations between the two countries and regional developments, and exchanged greetings from their respective leaders. Sheikh Mansour conveyed the greetings of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to convey his greetings to the Emirati president.
Mansour bin Zayed’s meetings with Saudi officials
Sheikh Mansour also held a separate meeting with Prince Khalid bin Salman, discussing issues of mutual interest and ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The talks coincided with mounting pressure on Riyadh from missile and drone attacks carried out by Iran-backed Houthi forces for several weeks.
Saudi Arabia is seeking international support to confront the Houthis, although it was not clear whether these efforts included a specific request to the UAE. Abu Dhabi was previously one of Riyadh’s leading regional partners in the war against the Yemeni group. The visit comes after years of differences between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over issues including regional policies and oil.
Riyadh-Abu Dhabi differences over Yemen
The differences between them emerged publicly in December 2025, when a UAE-backed separatist group in southern Yemen advanced towards areas near the Saudi border. Saudi Arabia condemned the Emirati role in those developments at the time and carried out an air strike targeting an Emirati-linked arms shipment at Yemen’s Al Mukalla port.
Abu Dhabi later announced the withdrawal of all its forces from Yemen, but tensions between the two countries continued afterwards. Sheikh Mansour was accompanied on his visit by Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for National Security; Ali Saeed Al Neyadi, Chairman of the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority; and Nasser Humaid Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of the Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement, along with a number of officials.
The UAE vice-president later left Saudi Arabia after the visit concluded. Prince Khalid bin Salman and a number of officials were there to bid him farewell.
The talks come as the war in Yemen, which began 12 years ago after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and was followed by a Saudi-led military intervention, continues.
