Saudi Arabia has appointed a commander of a multinational maritime defence alliance of 14 countries, including Bangladesh. In a statement on Thursday, the Saudi defence ministry said Rear Admiral Abdullah bin Salem Al-Shehri had been appointed its commander.
The step was taken to protect the security of navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The statement also said Al-Shehri would oversee joint naval defence, coordinate with member states and other maritime coalitions, and conduct various missions under the alliance’s charter.
Bangladesh, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey and Yemen announced the formation of the alliance on 30 July. The Saudi statement said many more countries were completing the process of joining; some had already signed the joint declaration, and others were preparing to sign the declaration and charter before formally joining as founding members.
The Saudi ministry described the alliance as an “open international coalition,” saying all countries that agreed with its aims and principles would be welcomed, and that applications for new membership were being received regularly.
A planning meeting of the alliance will be held on 12 and 13 August, where its institutional structure will be finalised and the way paved to add more countries.
The 14 founding countries said the alliance’s main aims were to ensure freedom of navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and to protect international trade routes and energy-supply routes. This maritime corridor, connecting the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, is highly important for world trade.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report