The Sahel is in its second decade of conflict since the crisis began in 2012, gripped in an ever-growing and intricate cycle of terrorist insurgency, rural banditry, militancy, political Islam and political instability. The number of reported deaths from political violence increased by 77% in Burkina Faso and 150% in Mali between 2021 and 2022 (ACLED 2023). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has supported several initiatives for the region and remains committed as the Sahel seeks to overcome these security threats. This paper asks. “What is the role for the UAE today in the security crisis in the Sahel?” The paper’s main argument is that the UAE has a strategic opportunity to deeply root its international cooperation in the Sahel. Unlike most traditional security partners of the region, the UAE has the military and financial capacity to refocus security and development cooperation with the concerned countries. At the same time, it does not suffer from the legacy or stigmas that have complicated the actions of other traditional external powers in the region. The analysis relies on the DIME-FIL (diplomatic, informational, military, and economic; finance, intelligence, and law enforcement) concept to redraft the UAE’s role in the Sahel. The DIME-FIL model incorporates the key mission areas of all instruments of power in the analysis in order to achieve comprehensive integration of the instruments of power concept. It also provides an internationally integrated approach for analyzing prospects for UAE strategy in the Sahel. The analysis also use primary data collected through interviews with actors and observers of the Sahel region. The study’s main findings is that the UAE has the capacity to support security and socio-economic development in the Sahel using comprehensive integration. This requires the development of a new strategy that includes dialogue with all African and international stakeholders, strategic messaging, public diplomacy, military equipment and training, decision advantage, economic modernization, humanitarian assistance and human rights. In total, this study opens new perspectives for rethinking the role of external partners in the Sahel by further aligning the necessities dictated by the terrain in the Sahel with the engagement strategies of external powers that seek to exert influence in the region. The vision that could advance long term stability in the Sahel is one that fully recognizes and places African political and military legitimacy at its center of gravity.