View / Algiers cuts diplomatic relations and Abu Dhabi shrugs - Semafor
On Sept. 10, Algiers severed diplomatic relations with the UAE and closed its airspace to Emirati aircraft, surprising few who had watched relations between the two countries deteriorate.
Algiers — whose officials disparagingly refer to the UAE as “the statelet” — accused Abu Dhabi of interfering in its internal affairs and is building a narrative that the Emirates is fomenting separatism within its borders.
The official Emirati response was restrained. “The UAE reaffirms the importance it attaches to its relations with all countries,” the Foreign Ministry said, adding it hopes the decision would be temporary. The unofficial reaction was sharper. Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, posted that relations between countries should be managed through “reason, communication, and clarity of interest, not through puzzles and signals that require deciphering.”
The UAE and Algeria have never been close. Abu Dhabi supports Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and opened a consulate there in 2020, while Algeria supports the territory’s independence. The grievances extend to what Algeria cites as Emirati support for Khalifa Haftar in Libya (where Algeria backs the government in Tripoli) and Emirati involvement in the Sahel, both regions Algiers considers its own sphere.
Algerian state media reported, without presenting evidence, contact between Emirati diplomats and the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, or MAK, which Algeria designates a terrorist organization.
These grievances are not new, raising the question of why Algiers chose to break relations now.
One possible explanation could be found in Algeria’s rivalry with Morocco. Relations were cut in 2021, but tensions stretch back to the 1963 Sand War and include their unresolved border, Western Sahara, and competing regional ambitions. Algiers has blamed Rabat for everything from the 2021 wildfires in Kabylie to Moroccan “Zionist espionage,” the fortunes of its national football team, and the state of its own economy, which officials attribute to Moroccan cannabis “flooding” the country and contraband crossing a border that Algeria itself closed in 1994.
As the UAE’s relationship with Morocco has deepened, Abu Dhabi has found itself as a fresh target and the alleged MAK contact gives the government the pretext most likely to rally the Algerian street.
Algeria has maintained close relationships with states outside the Western order. Russia is its principal arms supplier, while military ties with Iran have expanded. The UAE, meanwhile, has deepened its relationship with the US and built a deeper economic presence across Africa.
The immediate consequences of the rupture will likely be limited. Tens of thousands of Algerians live in the UAE, and Abu Dhabi has made clear that Algerian residents will remain welcome. Algiers has also exempted civilian passenger flights from the Emirates from its airspace restrictions until the end of 2026.
While the Algerian government’s decision to rupture relations hasn’t exactly caused shockwaves internationally, it has raised a question: why now? It seems the simplest explanation is because Algiers has run out of enemies to blame for the dismal state of its economy and lack of opportunities for its citizens, and has decided it’s easier to build a narrative against the UAE, a distant and prosperous state unlikely to retaliate.
Tareq Alotaiba is a Fellow at the Belfer Center in Harvard University. He has 12 years of experience in economic policy, foreign affairs, and national security with the Abu Dhabi and UAE Federal governments. An Abu Dhabi native, he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in security studies at Georgetown University.
