Red Sea

The Red Sea forms a unique region, bridging the African continent and the Middle East, and forming an important global trade route. The area comprising the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa is also a theatre for several overlapping conflict systems at local, national, regional and geo-strategic levels, characterized by shifting alliances and instability, but also by intense economic, political and social exchange between the two shores. In large part, Yemen remains the only open, widespread armed conflict, but the potential for spill-over and a resurgence of other conflicts remains a tangible threat.

Our work

CMI has worked in the Red Sea region to promote dialogue among key regional actors on addressing transnational threats to peace and security, and to enhance political, security and economic cooperation between Red Sea national, regional and sub-regional actors.

CMI’s dialogue-driven approach aims to provide informal venues to enable networking and discussion among stakeholders around the Red Sea, to share information and analysis from the region and feed this into policy discussions and decision-making, as well as to support regional actors working to develop multilateral frameworks for cooperation.

Key results

CMI’s work in the Red Sea region has enabled stakeholders to exchange on regional challenges and opportunities for cooperation. CMI has also supported the establishment and operationalisation of the IGAD Taskforce on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.