Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-pledges-500-million-yemen-development-after-uae-withdrawal-2026-01-15/
Saudi Arabia is giving Yemen $500 million to help them. This money is for the part of Yemen. They will use it to build hospitals and schools. They will also fix the roads. Help people get fuel so they have electricity. Saudi Arabia wants to help Yemen because they care about the people who live there. The Saudi Defence Minister, Khalid bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia wants Yemen to be a country. Saudi Arabia is doing this because they want to help the people of Yemen. The money will go to ten provinces in Yemen. The news comes after Saudi Arabia used its military to push out the Southern Transitional Council, a group that wants to be separate from the rest of Yemen and is supported by the United Arab Emirates. This shows that the fighting in Yemen is not about people in Yemen disagreeing, but also about Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates competing with each other for power and control in the region.
This article is important because it shows how the development aid is being used as a tool to get what Saudi Arabia wants rather than just helping people. The development aid from Saudi Arabia is a way for them to have control after the United Arab Emirates left. Saudi Arabia wants to stop the people in the south of Yemen from wanting to be separate. This could potentially be a problem for Yemen and for Saudi Arabia’s safety in the area where they might build. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates used to work against the Houthis but now they do not agree on what should happen to Yemen. Saudi Arabia wants Yemen to stay together and the United Arab Emirates thinks the south should be able to make its own decisions. If Saudi Arabia is able to rebuild some of the areas it could make things more stable. It could also make the problems between countries in the region even worse.
Saudi Arabia is going to do development projects in southern Yemen. They want to be seen as an influence and have more control. The UAE will probably still have some power in the area even if they take their soldiers out and they can do this by working with allies or soft power to get what they want. The STC does not go along with what Saudi Arabia wants, if they feel like the deal is unfair. If this happens It could make things very unstable in the area.
This relates to what’s being talked about in class by having the idea of Saudi Arabia pushing aid to other countries in the areas of the Middle East to help promote and benefit the area. If the Saudis continue to do this it could help push Saudi Arabia to be a big power player in the region which could help the Middle East to potentially lose its shatter belt status.