Thirteen countries have officially joined the Saudi-led Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition, created to ensure security in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea.
Sea-news.az reports that the Saudi Ministry of Defense released this information following a meeting held in Jeddah.
The ministry’s statement notes that the number of countries signing the joint declaration has reached 15. Thirteen states have completed internal procedures, signed the coalition charter, and officially announced their accession, marking the coalition’s effective launch and its transition into an institutional and operational phase.
Representatives from 39 countries participated in the meeting held at the Western Fleet Command base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The remaining states are continuing the process of formalizing their participation in the coalition.
Note that on July 20, Yahya Sarea, the military spokesman for Yemen’s rebel movement, announced a ban on maritime transport toward Saudi Arabia. In response, the Riyadh-led Saudi coalition announced on July 21 that it had begun taking measures to protect commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. On July 30, Saudi Arabia and several other states announced the creation of a maritime coalition headquartered in Riyadh to protect freedom of navigation, international trade routes, and energy supplies in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. According to Qatar’s Al Jazeera television channel, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Qatar, Comoros, Kuwait, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Turkey have joined the alliance.
