Jeddah Summit – Regional coordination to face challenges

The Council of Arab and African States bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden will hold its first summit in Jeddah on Thursday, to discuss means to enhance the security of navigation and global trade.

The council, which was established in early 2020, seeks to expand political and economic cooperation and unify efforts to enhance navigation security and protect waterways and vital straits in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Political researcher Abdo Salem said that the council would set practical mechanisms to merge the security systems of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb, with the aim to curb the Iranian influence and other threats that lie in the Arabian Sea basin.

For his part, researcher in strategic and military studies Dr. Muhammad Al-Harbi said that the Jeddah summit would be held at an important time, in view of the accelerating events at the political, economic and military levels.

He explained that world powers were competing to draw a modern geopolitical map, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war and its repercussions on energy, oil, and supply chains, in addition to the escalating Cold War between the United States and China.

Al-Harbi added that Saudi Arabia would assume an important role within the council, as a key political, economic, military and religious center, “embodying the concept of diversity and strategic balance, promoting security, stability, prosperity and comprehensive sustainable development in all fields, and confronting the various regional and international threats and challenges.”

“In this regard, it has become necessary to develop and activate an effective, advanced, realistic and applicable strategic vision, to guarantee the security of the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea regions in the face of various international and regional threats and challenges.”

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz had invited the leaders of the GCC countries to participate in the work and discussions of the one-day summit, which is held in the city of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast.

The summit agenda addresses a range of topics, topped by the situation in Yemen and the Horn of Africa, the security of water navigation and international trade routes, and their economic, commercial and investment importance to the global economy.

Source: Aawsat