Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries announce a multinational maritime defence alliance for the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Thursday, 30 July 2026, that the kingdom and 13 other countries have established a Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The three waterways form a strategic corridor linking the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean.

According to Al Jazeera, representatives of 43 countries out of the 51 invited took part in the founding meeting, and a European Union delegation also attended. Alongside Saudi Arabia, the signatories are reported to be Turkiye, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Djibouti, Somalia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Sudan and the Comoros. The United Arab Emirates and Oman have not joined. Saudi Arabia is a founding member and hosts the alliance headquarters, and the statement said the door remains open to other countries.

The statement said activities will include sharing intelligence and information, operational planning, and joint exercises and maritime operations, and that the alliance is "purely defensive in nature and does not target any state." It did not specify what ships or aircraft each country would contribute. Bab al-Mandeb is 29 kilometres wide at its narrowest point and carries roughly 10 to 12 percent of global maritime trade. With traffic through the Strait of Hormuz still constrained, the route has become one of the region's main energy export passages, and any disruption there can push world energy prices higher.