Parliament approved today for the Maldives to join the defense coalition led by Saudi Arabia to maintain the security and safety of major sea lanes used for transporting goods by sea in Gulf countries.
The purpose of the coalition, announced last month by Saudi Arabia alongside 13 other nations, is to safeguard the freedom of maritime navigation and international trade and energy supply routes in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu submitted the matter to the Parliament seeking approval to participate in the coalition, sign the "Charter of the Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition," and ratify the treaty. Following its review, the Foreign Relations Committee of the parliament decided to grant approval.
The report formulated by the committee recommending approval to sign and ratify the treaty was passed in today's parliamentary sitting with 58 members voting in favor out of the 65 members who participated in the vote.
Only one member voted against granting approval to join the treaty, while six members abstained from voting. All seven of those members were from the opposition MDP.
The founding nations of the coalition stated that participation in the coalition's activities is an independent sovereign decision of each member state. They stated that the coalition's activities will be conducted in a manner that fully respects international law, respects state sovereignty, and protects the freedom of maritime navigation.
Saudi Arabia is the founding and leading nation of this coalition, and it has been designated as the coalition's permanent headquarters.
The countries that have joined the coalition so far, in addition to Saudi Arabia, include Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Djibouti, Somalia, Bangladesh, Yemen, and Comoros.
The coalition was formed at a time when the Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia last July, subsequently launching attacks on vessels linked to Saudi Arabia and increasing threats to commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
