Algeria announced on Thursday, September 10, its decision to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the most serious development in relations between the two countries after years of mounting tensions and disagreements over regional, security, and political issues. The Algerian Foreign Ministry gave the UAE ambassador 48 hours to leave the country.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry announced the decision after saying that it had exhausted “all means to preserve bilateral relations,” accusing Abu Dhabi of continuing “provocative or hostile actions” despite repeated warnings. The ministry did not identify a single incident as the direct cause of the decision, suggesting that the move resulted from a long accumulation of disputes rather than a single crisis.

The course of the dispute reveals four key issues that led Algeria to conclude that maintaining relations with Abu Dhabi had become more costly to its security and political interests than severing ties.

Western Sahara and the UAE-Morocco Alliance
Morocco and Western Sahara have constituted the oldest and deepest points of friction between Algeria and the UAE. Algeria supports the Polisario Front and maintains its commitment to the principle of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, while Abu Dhabi has strengthened its relations with Rabat in recent years and supported Morocco’s position on the territory.

The UAE opened a consulate in the city of Laayoune in Western Sahara in October 2020, a move Algeria regarded as support for Morocco’s position in a dispute that Algeria considers a strategic issue linked to its national security.
This came after the UAE established official relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, while Algeria rejects normalization with Israel and regards the Palestinian issue as a constant element of its foreign policy.
Algeria views the trilateral rapprochement among Morocco, the UAE, and Israel as a shift in the balance of power in the Maghreb, particularly amid the continued rupture in Algerian-Moroccan relations since 2021.

The Sahel, Mali and Conflicting Security Calculations

The dispute extended to the Sahel, which Algeria regards as a direct extension of its national security, particularly Mali, Niger, and Libya. Algeria shares a long border with Mali, while the region has witnessed a series of military coups in recent years and a decline in Algeria’s traditional influence.

Algeria’s approach, based on preventing military interventions and maintaining its role as a major regional power in the Sahel, clashes with the growing roles of multiple external actors in the region.

A report by the International Crisis Group indicated that tensions with the UAE were already high, citing Algerian accusations that Abu Dhabi was fomenting instability in Libya, Mali, and Sudan, amid growing Algerian concerns over the expansion of UAE economic and political influence in its regional neighborhood.

Algeria has also sought to maintain its influence in the Sahel through political and economic initiatives, including the establishment of free-trade zones with countries in the region, at a time when its ability to exert influence has declined following the military coups in Mali and Niger and changes in the regional balance of power.

Accusations of Interference in Internal Affairs

Relations entered a more sensitive phase when Algeria began accusing the UAE of interfering in its internal affairs and seeking to destabilize the country. These accusations were no longer merely media leaks, but were voiced by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on several occasions, although he did not always directly name the UAE.

Tebboune had said that Algeria’s relations with Gulf states were “brotherly,” with the exception of one country, in a reference widely understood to mean the UAE, and accused it of interfering in internal affairs and attempting to destabilize the country.

In March 2024, Tebboune indirectly accused the UAE of fomenting problems in Libya, Mali, and Sudan, according to documentation by the International Crisis Group.

The tone of Algerian rhetoric escalated during 2025 and 2026, with references to a “small state” or “mini-state” seeking to destabilize countries in the region becoming part of Tebboune’s political discourse.

Last July, Tebboune said the UAE’s influence had been “very negative” in the region and called on it to stay away from Algeria to prevent what he described as bloodshed from spreading to his country.

This coincided with accusations in the Algerian media that Abu Dhabi was supporting parties and movements that Algeria considers a threat to the unity of the state.

The Mohammed bin Zayed Model and the Clash of Interests

The dispute ultimately went beyond individual issues to encompass broader differences over the nature of the UAE’s regional role. While Abu Dhabi seeks to build influence beyond its geographic and demographic size through investment and political and security alliances, Algeria regards the Maghreb and the Sahel as strategic spheres in which it will not accept areas becoming zones of influence for external powers.

The clash intensified after Algeria’s failed attempt to join the BRICS group in 2023, when the group announced the admission of Egypt, the UAE, Iran, and Ethiopia as part of its expansion, while Algeria remained outside the core membership.

Algeria later sought to compensate for this by obtaining membership in the New Development Bank affiliated with BRICS, which it achieved in 2024. However, this did not eliminate Algeria’s perception that some regional powers were working to limit its influence.

The decision to sever relations came after preliminary steps revealed that the crisis had reached an unprecedented level, including Algeria’s initiation in February 2026 of procedures to cancel the air transport agreement signed with the UAE in 2013, amid a growing campaign of criticism against Abu Dhabi in the Algerian media.

The UAE responded to the decision by expressing hope that it would be temporary, reaffirming its commitment to relations with peoples and states and to serving common interests, without engaging in a public confrontation with Algeria.

Thus, Algeria’s decision to sever ties with the UAE represents the culmination of an accumulated conflict over Morocco and Western Sahara, influence in the Sahel, accusations of domestic interference, and the nature of the UAE’s regional role. Algeria ultimately chose to prioritize considerations of sovereignty and national security over maintaining a bilateral relationship that could no longer be managed through traditional diplomatic means.

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