Nigeria has joined Saudi Arabia and 12 other countries in backing a multinational naval alliance established to protect commercial shipping and global energy routes in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways.
The decision places Nigeria in a major Middle East security arrangement formed by Saudi Arabia towards involving about 50 countries in the international initiative amid escalating attacks on commercial vessels, oil tankers and maritime infrastructure.
Although 51 countries were invited to the meeting, only 43 sent representatives and fourteen countries eventually signed the statement supporting the alliance.
International news channels including Al-Jazeera report that Saudi Arabia announced the proposed Multinational Maritime Defence Alliance after a Thursday meeting in Riyadh attended by representatives of 43 countries and a delegation from the European Union. The meeting examined growing threats to maritime navigation and considered the proposed alliance’s operational structure, command system and areas of responsibility.
Nigeria which has always emphasised the need for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, along with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia signed a joint statement supporting the initiative.
The alliance will be headquartered in Saudi Arabia, which will also host its command centres. According to the joint statement, the coalition will protect freedom of navigation, international trade routes and global energy supply corridors around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The participating countries stressed that the alliance would be “purely defensive” and would not be directed against any country, military bloc or international organisation. Members are expected to cooperate on intelligence sharing, operational planning, joint military exercises, training, capacity building and coordinated maritime operations.
Nigeria’s participation represents a significant expansion of its security engagement beyond West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, where the country has traditionally concentrated its maritime operations.