Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border
The Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border is 457 km (284 mi) in length and runs from the Persian Gulf coast in the west to the tripoint with Oman in the east.
According to the UAE, the government did not notice this discrepancy until 1975 as a result of the absence of lawyers, technicians, and geographers on its negotiation team.
During the 19th century Britain had signed a number of protectorate treaties with seven emirates on what was then known as the 'Pirate Coast', giving rise to the so-called Trucial States.
[citation needed] On 25 November 1935 British officials met with Ibn Saud in an attempt to finalise a frontier between the new kingdom and its coastal protectorates, including the Trucial States.
A third approach offered Zayed 400 million Rupees and finally, he was informed that the Saudi representative, Abdullah Al Qurayshi, wished to present him with three pistols.
King Faisal used the tactic of non-recognition as a leverage against the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to make it reach a settlement quickly.
He felt the handling of the Buraimi dispute in which Saudi troops were defeated and forcibly removed was a great insult to the Kingdom and a blow to be avenged.
King Faisal told the UAE delegation which visited him in Taif in July 1972 that Saudi Arabia had been humiliated in Buraimi and that it would have to retrieve its rights, vowing that it would not abandon property inherited from fathers and grandfathers.
Sheikh Zayed was more eager for a settlement but Saudi Arabia's demand was unrealistic as it claimed the annexation of extensive lands in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi some of which contained a number of oil fields.
[16][17] On 21 August 1974 an agreement was settled between Sheikh Zayed and King Faisal on the demarcation of the frontiers between Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia immediately declared recognition of the United Arab Emirates, sent its ambassador, and promoted its liaison office in Dubai into a consulate.
The Saudis hence succeeded in gaining 20 miles east of Ras Ghumais in another Treaty in 1977 and gave Sheikh Zayed a cheque for $34.5 million.
[20] In 2004, Emirati under secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Rashid Al Nuaimi told US ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba that the UAE signed the treaty in 1974 was a case of "force majeure".
[23] Emirati undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated "We don't want to be separated from the Qataris by a slice of Saudi waters."
[30] Lastly, the UAE directly disagreed with Article 6 of the treaty, which stipulated that an international company would be required to prepare an official map to reflect the current boundaries between the two countries.
[30] In August 2009, this caused a problem for Emirati citizens entering Saudi Arabia, as their identification cards showed this disputed map and resulted in them being turned back at the border.
