The UAE in Northeast Africa: Navigating the Ups and Downs of a ‘By Any Means Necessary’ Policy

Evidence shows that the UAE’s interest in Africa gained significant momentum in the post-2010 period. Principally anchored around economic and geopolitical aspirations, the UAE’s investment in the continent exceeds $60 billion. While the UAE significantly invested in various sectors, it also paid close attention to the geopolitical and strategic relevance of Africa. It has built ports and military outposts and engaged in security and defense cooperation and investments across the continent. In hindsight, we can reasonably extrapolate that the UAE’s geopolitical and strategic interests in Africa are mainly focused on three but not mutually exclusive goals: to stand out as a formidable power player in Africa and elsewhere, to fight the Muslim Brotherhood and other security threats, including al-Shabaab and the Houthis, and to protect its economic and strategic pursuits in Africa. However, drawing from various reports, research articles, news outlets, and other web-based sources, this analysis argues that behind this attractive smokescreen lurks a monarchy bent on achieving its aspirations anywhere and at any cost, and thus, by any means necessary in Africa.