Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, accompanied by an official Saudi delegation that included Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on May 20. The visit resulted in a declaration to establish a joint high committee for the two countries to manage their foreign policies and confront the challenges facing the region, according to a report by the Emirati WAM news agency.

London-based Al-Arab newspaper reported that the presence of the Saudi interior minister during the visit sent a message that there are no internal Saudi differences in Saudi Arabia’s position toward Qatar, as many Qataris claim.

The establishment of a joint committee between the two Gulf states to meet the region’s challenges means that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as a system of collective action, is no longer able to carry out this role. Its member states — Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the other — continue to disagree over how to deal with the challenges that have afflicted the region for more than three years. Last month’s understanding has not helped bridge the gap between the two sides yet, as each party remains committed to its foreign policy positions that existed before the outbreak of the crisis.

The common approach taken by Saudi Arabia and the UAE with regard to the Arab uprisings is clearly congruent in Egypt. Saudi Arabia and the UAE declared their unequivocal support for the Egyptian military's actions on July 3, 2013, and afterward announced their commitment to support Egypt economically. Gulf support to Egypt, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has exceeded $20 billion, according to what presidential candidate Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared.