NATURGY | Opa about naturgy: Emirates, a Western ally that is getting closer to Russia and China

The alarm went off again in La Moncloa this week. Another Gulf oil power was vying to acquire a major national company. yeah, yeah renewable energy company controlled by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is preparing its entry into the Spanish energy company Naturgy, purchasing more than 41% of the shares held by the CVC and GIP funds, and ultimately announcing the takeover of all shares of the energy company Naturgy. Will the Spanish government use the shield to protect the Spanish company, as it did with Saudi Arabia’s plan to buy 9.9% of Telefónica to become its largest shareholder?

Add, minority partner of the coalition government, has already asked to activate this “anti-takeover shield” and prevent the Emirati group from becoming the main shareholder of the energy company with the help of public money. The executive’s majority partner is leaving all scenarios open – from finding other Spanish investors to direct equity entry – but appears ready to give the go-ahead to an Emirati takeover bid. provided that it is produced by the Spanish company CriteriaCaixa, investment arm of the La Caixa Foundation, and that the goal is to develop a long-term industrial and financial strategy, this newspaper reported last Friday.

What makes the Saudis different from the Emirates in terms of geopolitical or economic risks? “Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have similar models: authoritarian monarchies in which religion is very present, and with a royal family that controls all political and economic power,” he explains to this newspaper. David Hernandez

Professor of International Relations and Middle East Expert at Complutense University.

Spanish public opinion, of course, is more informed about the peculiarities of Saudi Arabia, the expert notes, including due to the “purchase” of Saudi Arabia. athletes associated with Spanish competitions (from Cristiano Ronaldo to Karim Benzema, both former Real Madrid players), or to celebrate major events such as Football Super Cup.

The Saudi country is de facto led by Mohamed bin Salman (MBS), the crown prince who, according to the United States, ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A journalist critical of MBS was tortured, beheaded and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain documents for his future wedding. There are no known cases of such a case in the Emirates, although there have been several arrests of lawyers and human rights activistsin many cases linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is considered a terrorist organization in that country, according to the country file of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven small states: Abu Dhabi And Dubaithe two most famous, besides those Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah And Ajman. The Federal Supreme Council is the main political and legislative body of the Federation and consists of Emir of each of the seven emirates. Political parties are not allowed. The country is desert on 97% of the territory, with the exception of cities, oases and mountains in the north. During the summer, the coastal region is virtually uninhabitable as temperatures around 50°C are reached with much higher temperatures due to the moist wind known as Sharky.

Emirates diversification plans

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the Emirates. It has per capita income more than 55,000 euros per year, although very unevenly distributed among its 10 million population, 85% of whom are of foreign origin, oblivious to the benefits of mineral wealth. From this emirate, energy company Taqa now wants to launch an operation to buy Naturgy. 90% of the shares are controlled by the holding company Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company. The emir who controls the entire energy center is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ).

The Emirates, like Saudi Arabia, are beginning the process of diversifying their economy. Hence the current investment frenzy abroad, especially in Spain. While MBS has the Saudi Vision 2030 project, a project worth hundreds of billions of euros aimed at reducing dependence on oil revenues, Abu Dhabi has developed another similar project called Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030

.

“These are plans that are very similar to each other, among other things because they consulted by the same international consulting firms”, notes David Hernandez. “The same goals, the same measures and grandiose speeches on economic diversification. Not because they believe that oil or gas will run out, but because they recognize that international markets are changing and that the demand for hydrocarbon resources is becoming less and more for renewable energy sources, and also because the model is unsustainable, subject to volatility . Prices.”

Relations with Russia and China

In foreign policy, the Emirates cooperates with Saudi Arabia, the United States and, to a lesser extent, Europe. They participated in the Saudi Arabian military alliance against Yemen and in the fight against “political Islam.” represented by the Muslim Brotherhood. But at the same time, they maintain growing relationships with countries such as China and Russia, which NATO views as a challenge and a threat respectively.

“For more than 20 years these monarchies have tried diversify your diplomatic relations. Until recently, its main political and military support was the US and the EU. They now know that if they want to survive politically, they need other allies. “They turned to China, which became their main trading partner, and they turned to Russia,” Hernandez elaborates. “They want to become global players and prevent all power from being concentrated in the West because they have their own political agenda.”

In fact, last August, the United Arab Emirates officially became a member of the BRICS economic group, after its application was approved by the bloc’s founding countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Because of this, the Emirates appears indirectly in the recent Spanish government report on security threats: “In this context, the BRICS initiative was Russia’s main tool for breaking out of economic isolation

. The expansion of the number of countries invited to join the BRICS group at its 15th summit in Johannesburg in August (Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia) brings emerging economies closer to the sphere of influence of China and Russia.

Emirates next to Spain

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The UAE’s relations with Spain are good, thanks in part to ties between the royal families. Now King Emeritus Juan Carlos I took refuge there in 2020, amid his legal troubles. In 2016, the visit of the Dubai sheikh to Spain was very popular. Mohammed bin Rashid. He was received by the then President of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernandez Vara, on the steps of a Boeing 747 that landed in Badajoz. The sheikh acquired a huge estate in the Olivenza region.

Pedro Sanchez visited the federation of the emirates in 2022 and signed a joint declaration with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on the creation strategic partnership between Spain and the UAE. Agreements for mutual promotion of investments were also signed: the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (APRI) and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Emirati sovereign fund Mubadala and its Spanish counterpart COFIDES to identify investment opportunities in Spain “with special attention.” to sectors such as the energy transition,” among other factors.