Saudi and Djibouti discuss ‘securing’ territorial waters

The Defence Minister of Djibouti, Ali Hassan Bahdon, has met with the Assistant Saudi Defence Minister Mohamed Abdullah Ayesh to discuss the “securing” of their territorial waters, Anadolu has reported. The agenda for the meeting in the Horn of Africa state also included military cooperation.

“We concentrated on how to reinforce military cooperation between the two countries,” Bahdon told official Djibouti television. He described the visit of the Saudi minister as “fruitful” and said that cooperation between the two states “leads to stability in the Red Sea.” He pointed out that “cooperation is also necessary in order to achieve stability in Yemen.”

Analysis: The Gulf Arabs’ military expansion in the Horn of Africa

According to Anadolu, since the start of the Saudi-led coalition’s military operations in Yemen, the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Djibouti has included a number of mutually beneficial “good turns”. Djibouti’s location on the Horn of Africa helps to facilitate the Arab coalition’s operations in Yemen.

The country’s Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Ali Yousef, has apparently agreed to the establishment of a Saudi Arabian military base in Djibouti.