"Ethiopia and the
breakaway republic of Somaliland, two countries with which the U.A.E.
has good relations, also appear to have been excluded." Abbas Al Lawati/Bloomberg- Saudi Arabia wants to bring several states lining the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden into a bloc to improve trade and maritime navigation, according to state-run media.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz met at his Riyadh palace with foreign
ministry officials from Egypt, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and
Jordan “to look into establishing an entity for Arab and African states
on the Red Sea coast,” Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. They
discussed ways to promote commerce and investment, as well as to protect
shipping, Al Ekhbariya said.
