Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, is mulling over bringing several countries lining the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden into a bloc in an effort to prop up trade and maritime navigation, according to state-backed media.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met with foreign ministers of various Arab and African nations to consider “establishing an entity for Arab and African states on the Red Sea coast,” Bloomberg News reported, citing the state-owned the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying.

The kingdom’s ruler met with officials from Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Jordan, Egypt, and Djibouti, it reported.

The potential alliance aims to boost maritime navigation, protect shipping, and enhance commerce, investment, and trade among its nations, the US-based news noted.

“Gulf states have been taking a more active role in the Horn of Africa, which got a special mention in the communique issued at the end of Sunday’s Gulf Cooperation Council summit,” Bloomberg said.

In September, Saudi Arabia brokered a peace agreement between Eritrea, which is located near the near Bab el-Mandeb, and Ethiopia.

Bab el-Mandeb is a shipping chokepoint on the Red Sea used by oil tankers and other cargo vessels en route to Europe and the US through the Suez Canal, Bloomberg noted.

The UAE, which wasn’t included in the grouping, has also been boosting its presence in the region. Ethiopia and Somaliland, which have good relations with the UAE, also appear to have been excluded.