Saudi Arabia announces 13 countries have formally joined maritime defence alliance

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that 13 countries had formally joined a multinational maritime defence alliance, marking its effective launch.

The Saudi Defence Ministry said in a statement posted on the US social media platform X that the third planning meeting of the Multinational Maritime Defence Alliance was held at the Western Fleet Command in Jeddah, with representatives from 39 friendly and allied countries taking part in a key step towards activating the alliance.

The statement said “The number of countries that signed the joint statement reached 15 countries, while 13 countries completed their national procedures, signed the coalition charter, and officially announced their accession.” 

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“This represents the actual launch of the coalition towards the stage of institutional and operational activation, while the rest of the countries continue to complete the necessary national procedures to join the coalition,” it added.

The development comes alongside rapid progress in completing the alliance’s institutional framework, including the appointment of a Saudi commander and an agreement for Pakistan to provide the deputy commander during its first term, the statement said.

It added that a headquarters for the alliance command had been designated and its logo approved, while the organisational and planning frameworks and reference documents needed to begin its operations were also being completed.

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