Behind the scenes, the departure of Saudi networks from Dubai / Has Saudi Arabia targeted the economic hub of the UAE?
Saudi Arabia’s decision to move its networks from Dubai to Riyadh amid disputes between the country and the UAE at various levels raises questions about the motives behind the move.
“Dispute and rivalry” may be the most appropriate terms to describe relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the past period, especially over the past year, according to the International News Group.
UAE and Saudi Arabia; from competition to differences.
Despite the competitive background between the two countries, especially in the shadow of the efforts of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to promote UAE in the region and introduce the country as a regional and even international player in various cases on the one hand and the ambitions of Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia’s young crown prince to increase its influence in the Arab-Islamic world on the other hand, but political differences between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen and after the announcement of Abu Dhabi in June 2019 to withdraw from this war emerged.
Of course, the differences between the proxy forces of the two sides in southern Yemen continue to grow. The UAE has long considered fighting the Yemeni Al-Islah Party (a branch of the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood) as one of its goals; The party is hosted by Riyadh and is working with its military to help ousted Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Has the departure of Saudi networks from Dubai / Saudi Arabia targeted the UAE’s economic hub?
But on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that Saudi news networks such as Al-Arabiya and MBC affiliated with Prince Mohammed bin Salman were leaving Dubai and returning to Riyadh. Bloomberg News reported that the staff of Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath networks were notified of the transfer plan from Dubai to Riyadh last Monday. This will be done in several stages and the goal will be to produce 12 hours of news programs from Riyadh by January 2022. The rest of the staff will be supported for the gradual transfer to Riyadh.
Earlier, however, Saudi Arabia had stepped up pressure on international companies to relocate their regional bases in the Middle East to Riyadh, posing a direct challenge to Dubai. Saudi sources reported that the Saudi government and government agencies in the country will not sign contracts with foreign companies with offices in the Middle East in other countries in the region from the beginning of 2024.
In addition, the main goal of Mohammad bin Salman’s famous project called “Neom” metropolis, which is being built at a cost of $ 500 billion and at the cost of displacing Saudis living near the Red Sea, is to become a tourist attraction in the region. Arabic and aside Dubai. As informed by the sources of this project, the facilities of Neom will be much more advanced and modern than Dubai if completed, which will cause Saudi tourists, who make up the majority of Dubai tourists, to replace Neom in the first place, and in the second place. Tourists from all over the world will not be motivated to travel to Dubai due to Neom’s attractive location.
Based on which, it can be concluded that Saudi Arabia’s decision to transfer its networks from Dubai, which is a free media city, is in an attempt to influence the city’s position as one of the centers of international media.
