Riyadh, July 30 (QNA) - A Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance was announced today in Riyadh to strengthen collective maritime defense cooperation to address growing challenges to global maritime security and safeguard freedom of navigation, international trade routes, and global energy supply routes through the Bab El Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.

The announcement came at the conclusion of a meeting hosted today by the Saudi Ministry of Defense, attended by chiefs of staff and their representatives from 43 countries, along with the Delegation of the European Union to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that 14 participating countries had confirmed their support for the proposed Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance and welcomed the consensus reached on its founding arrangements. It added that other participating countries had also expressed support for the initiative and were completing their respective domestic procedures and approvals required to join the joint statement. The ministry said the door would remain open for those countries, as well as any other interested states, to join once their national procedures had been completed.

In a joint statement, the founding members of the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of their governments to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, international law, international treaties, and internationally recognized rules and customs.

The statement said the member states recognized the growing challenges facing global maritime security and the resulting need to strengthen collective maritime defense cooperation to protect freedom of navigation, international trade routes, and global energy supply routes through the Bab El Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.

The founding states also affirmed their belief that maritime security was a shared responsibility and that cooperation and coordination among countries constitute the cornerstone of addressing common and transnational maritime threats, thereby contributing to global security, stability, and prosperity.

According to the statement, the declaration establishing the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance provides a framework for maritime defense cooperation aimed at enhancing maritime security, protecting freedom of navigation, safeguarding international trade routes and energy supply lines, and protecting shared maritime interests in the Bab El Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden, in accordance with international law, United Nations conventions, and international norms.

The statement added that the participating countries would continue completing their internal procedures required for formally acceding to the Charter of the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance, in accordance with each country's constitutional and legal requirements. It also affirmed the alliance's commitment to enhancing cooperation among member states in maritime security, information and intelligence sharing, operational planning, joint exercises, lessons learned, training, capacity building, and the conduct of joint maritime operations in accordance with the charter.

The statement further emphasized that participation in the alliance's activities and operations would remain a sovereign decision for each member state, subject to its national laws and procedures. It stressed that the alliance was purely defensive in nature, was not directed against any country, alliance, or international organization, and will conduct all of its activities in full compliance with international law, while respecting state sovereignty and protecting freedom of navigation.

The statement called on countries that share the alliance's objectives and principles to accede to its charter in accordance with its provisions, saying this would expand cooperation and strengthen collective maritime security in the Bab El Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. It also noted that Saudi Arabia is a founding member and the leader of the alliance, and that the country will host its permanent headquarters.

The statement also announced the establishment in Saudi Arabia of a Joint Command, a Command and Control Center, a Joint Maritime Operations Center, and a General Secretariat as the alliance's principal executive bodies.

The founding states concluded by affirming that the establishment of the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance represents a strategic step toward strengthening maritime security in the Bab El Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden, deepening defense cooperation among member states, and supporting stability and prosperity, while complementing international efforts to safeguard international peace and security in accordance with international law. (QNA)