Khalid bin Salman: Strong relations between Saudi, UAE cornerstone of stability

Strong and brotherly relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the cornerstone of regional stability, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Monday.

“The strong brotherly relations between the Kingdom and the UAE, and their leaderships, may God protect them, and the close cooperation between the two countries in various fields, is the cornerstone for the security, stability and prosperity of the region, in the face of projects of extremism, chaos, sedition and division,” Prince Khalid bin Salman tweeted.

The deputy minister of defense's comments come in light of an announcement by the Arab Coalition that a joint committee has been formed between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to stabilize the ceasefire in the Yemeni provinces of Shabwa and Abyan.

The coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said that the committee would start working as early as Monday.

“Today, we work together with our brothers in the UAE to achieve security and stability in Aden, Shabwa and Abyan, and we will continue to unify our fronts and join our words to face the terrorist threat, whether it be the Iranian-backed Houthis or al-Qaeda and ISIS,” Prince Khalid bin Salman said.

He added that they will continue to provide support to the Yemeni people so that security and stability prevail throughout Yemen.

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) had escalated over the past weeks after the STC took over the southern port city of Aden, the interim seat of Yemen's government, and last week extended their control to neighboring Abyan.

However, both sides declared a ceasefire after government forces took back control of three military camps from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the oil-producing province of Shabwa, and cut off all supply routes to the al-Alam camp where STC forces withdrew with their weapons on Saturday.

“Internal dialogue, not infighting, is the only way to resolve Yemen’s internal differences. There is a distinction between those who disagree for the sake of the interest of their country and to find ways to provide a decent life for the Yemeni citizen, and between those fighting the Yemenis - the origin of Arabs - for the sake of fawning and getting close to the Wilayat-al-Faqih and the project of the Iranian terrorist regime in the region,” Prince Khalid bin Salman said.