Kuwait’s Chief of Staff, General Khaled al-Shuraian, held talks with defence officials in Saudi Arabia on preserving freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, according to Kuwait’s state news agency.
The meeting comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to formalise a new multinational Maritime Defence Coalition, which will be headquartered in Riyadh and is aimed at safeguarding Red Sea shipping routes from Houthi attacks.
Reports indicate that around 50 countries have been invited to join the coalition, including Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Pakistan. Washington’s participation is widely viewed as crucial to the initiative’s credibility.
The move follows the Houthis’ July 20 announcement of a “maritime blockade” on Saudi Arabia, as well as a series of missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi oil tankers. The attacks have forced the kingdom to reroute a larger share of its oil exports through the Red Sea via Yanbu, which is now facing increasing pressure from Houthi threats after the earlier closure of the Strait of Hormuz.