Renewed fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region is threatening to unravel the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement that ended the previous war, and the responses of Gulf powers are drawing scrutiny as tensions with Eritrea raise the risk of a wider confrontation.
The UAE has taken a clear public position. On 25 September it condemned attacks by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and allied armed groups against Ethiopian federal forces, the seizure of airports in Tigray and escalation in the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara. Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, the UAE minister of state, expressed solidarity with Ethiopia's government and people, reaffirmed support for the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and called for an end to hostilities and adherence to the Pretoria Agreement.
The statement did not establish whether the UAE is providing military assistance or has secured commitments from the parties. Abu Dhabi also holds commercial interests across the region. DP World operates the port of Berbera in Somaliland, and a shipping route launched in 2025 connects it with Jebel Ali in the UAE, offering an additional cargo corridor for inland destinations such as Ethiopia. Landlocked since Eritrea's independence in 1993, Ethiopia relies heavily on Djibouti for access to international trade.
Saudi Arabia has not publicly announced a position on the latest fighting, according to an October 1 analysis by the Critical Threats project. Riyadh did undertake diplomatic efforts earlier this year to reduce tensions between Ethiopia's federal government and the TPLF. In November 2025, Chatham House reported that sources said Riyadh had offered to mediate between Ethiopia and Eritrea amid rising tensions over maritime access and regional security. A June 2026 analysis by Germany's SWP think tank said previous Saudi mediation efforts had failed, partly because negotiations did not address Ethiopia's interest in the Eritrean port of Assab.
The extent to which either Gulf power can influence the course of the conflict remains unclear.