The members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met in an “extraordinary meeting” in Riyadh on Wednesday to consider enhancing the cooperation and coordination between the armed forces of the bloc. The urgent meeting is in response to the persistent Houthis militia attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The meeting was called by GCC Armed Forces Operations and Training Committee at the Headquarters of General Secretariat. The talks were dominated by a focus on enhancing cooperation between the two sides in both operational and training matters, said the UAE Ministry of Defence.

The discussions were also to help strengthen coordination and integration of the armed forces of the Gulf countries, which include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. The main aim was to help in the joint defence of the Gulf and increase overall military readiness, but details of who is taking part and any conclusions drawn were not released.

The historic meeting comes on the heels of escalating Houthi assaults and the international and regional answers to curb these aggressive activities. Although the Gulf Cooperation Council has not made any formal announcement about Wednesday’s gathering, the GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi has urged for “effective” international actions after the GCC ministers’ summit that took place in Manama.

Evidence of such strains is being observed amid the difficulties experienced in Yemen which is in the midst of rising hostilities as the fighting flared up again in July. Recent developments have included escalating violent clashes as the foreign troops and the rebel militia engaged in another escalation following a period of relative calm that followed the truce agreement reached by the two parties in effect since April 2022 and enforced by the United Nations.

The continuous disruption is rooted in the September 2014 incidents during which the Houthis took control over Sana’a and other major areas.