Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border
A desert border settled in 1974, soon after the UAE was founded, in a deal that gave Saudi Arabia a strip of land that had linked the Emirates with Qatar, and left most of the Shaybah oilfield on the Saudi side. The UAE later sought to amend it, Riyadh denied there was any dispute, and in 2016 the two set up a joint coordination council.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Saudi Arabia →United Arab Emirates →
The 1974 pact
Under a border pact agreed in 1974, soon after the UAE was formed in 1971, the UAE ceded to Saudi Arabia a strip of land that had linked it with Qatar. The Shaybah oilfield lies across the border but mostly in Saudi territory. By 2005 the UAE was seeking to amend the pact; a London-based newspaper reported that it still claimed the Gulf waters off the strip, and Saudi Arabia protested a planned Qatar–UAE bridge that would have crossed them. Saudi Arabia’s interior minister denied any border dispute, saying the two were in touch over finalising the 1974 agreement.[1]
“this would pass through Saudi regional waters”[1]
Partners
In May 2016 King Salman and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed, attended the signing of an agreement in Jeddah setting up a Saudi–Emirati coordination council.[2]
Timeline
More borders
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Sources
- [1]Riyadh protests Qatar-UAE bridge · Al Jazeera (news agencies) · 29 June 2005
- [2]UAE and Saudi form joint council · The National · 16 May 2016
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.