Saudi Arabia, Yemen call for closer regional ties to counter Houthi attacks

Saudi Arabia, Yemen call for closer regional ties to counter Houthi attacks

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned on Wednesday that his government will not hesitate to respond decisively to any threat or attack, reaffirming support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen to confront the Houthis.

During his annual royal speech during the opening of the Shura Council, he noted that the establishment of the “Mecca Defence Pact” between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan aimed to shield the region from escalating conflict, adding that the kingdom also initiated the establishment of a “multinational defensive maritime coalition” to protect international waterways.

Mohammed bin Salman condemned continued Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territories, as well as the “repeated violations” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, and called for diplomacy to de-escalate conflicts in the region.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Afrah Abdulaziz al-Zouba met with the Turkish Embassy’s charge d’affaires in Yemen, Amirullah Isler, to discuss regional developments and ways to strengthen ties between “the two brotherly countries,” according to a post shared on X by Yemen’s Foreign Ministry.

The Turkish envoy reaffirmed Ankara’s “steadfast supportive stance” toward the Yemeni government and al-Zouba stressed the need for closer political and diplomatic coordination to counter Houthi threats to the Red Sea, the statement added.