The new cooperation agreement is the first tangible evidence that a long-running rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over Yemen’s future is starting to heal, driven by the rapid advance of Houthi forces that has alarmed both Gulf rulers.
According to sources in Yemen, the UAE will restart funding for some government forces fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in the south. Those southern forces, mainly the Giant Brigades, were previously trained and funded by the UAE and are regarded as some of the most effective in the disjointed anti-Houthi military coalition. But the UAE quit operations inside Yemen in January, cutting off its funding supply line.
Saudi Arabia is facing daily drone and missile attacks from the Houthis and is struggling to maintain an atmosphere of normality, as strikes immobilise its airports and energy infrastructure. In return for the UAE resuming payments, Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide air cover for the anti-Houthi force.
The separatist Southern Transition Council (STC) has demanded a referendum on secession that would restore the 1967–1990 borders, when Yemen was two separate states. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE have responded to that demand. The STC has also not yet agreed for its troops to fight outside the borders of the old Southern Yemen, but an explicit Saudi agreement to allow a referendum would likely lift that restriction.
Yemen’s UN-recognised government, based in Aden, remains weak and largely sidelined by the manoeuvring of the Gulf powers and southern separatists.