DOHA, August 14. /TASS/. Thirteen countries have officially joined the Saudi-led Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition (MMDC), aimed at ensuring security in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, according to the Saudi Defense Ministry.

"The number of countries that signed the joint statement reached 15, while 13 countries completed their national procedures, signed the coalition charter and officially announced their accession, which marks the actual launch of the coalition and its transition to the stage of institutional and operational functioning," the ministry said following a meeting in Jeddah.

A Saudi representative has been appointed commander of the coalition, while the deputy commander will be from Pakistan during the first cycle. Participants also decided on the coalition’s headquarters and logo. The integration of member states’ military officers into the coalition’s joint command, a joint maritime operations center and an intelligence center will begin in the near future.

On July 20, Yahya Saria, military spokesman of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, announced a ban on maritime navigation linked to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition, in turn, said on July 21 that it would take measures to protect commercial shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. On July 30, Saudi Arabia and a number of other countries announced the creation of a maritime coalition headquartered in Riyadh to protect freedom of navigation, international trade routes and energy deliveries in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.