ABSTRACT
Bab el Mandeb is the strait controlling the entrance to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden and is considered one of the major choke points of the world. It is important for global trade between Asia and Europe, including oil exports from the Persian/Arabian Gulf. However, its significance is not only related to traffic through the Suez Canal since Red Sea ports, particularly of countries like Sudan and Eritrea with no other coastline, are dependent upon it for trade with Asia. To an extent, trade has been undermined by the construction of the Saudi Petroline across the Arabian Peninsula, but this factor has been partly counteracted by the increase in the capacity of the Suez Canal and the further development of the Suez Mediterranean (SUMED) pipeline built through Egypt to circumvent the canal. This is the first maritime delimitation in the Red Sea and may sensitise the region to the need for maritime boundaries.
