In recent decades, ties between Gulf nations – especially UAE and Saudi Arabia – and Africa have witnessed a significant improvement. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Initiative for Africa which will be investing $1 billion across Africa over the next 10 years. In 2022 and 2023, the UAE made investment pledges of over $97 billion in Africa. Saudi Arabia has also acquired large tracts of land in the region. Africa would not like to depend solely on the US or China and get trapped in the geopolitical competition between Beijing and Washington. Further, Africa and the Gulf have a mutual interest in maritime security in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea