RIYADH — The Gulf states are looking toward more security-related cooperation with the European Union, particularly in the maritime arena, the bloc's special representative for the Gulf region told Al-Monitor in an interview.

The Gulf states have not sought “security guarantees” from the EU, said EU special representative for the Gulf region Luigi di Maio. But he added that “there is the mutual interest to cooperate more and more on the security side.”

The threat to navigation in the Red Sea region by Houthi rebels in Yemen continues to endanger global trade, prompting the EU to work with Gulf partners to ensure safe passage for commercial vessels and oil tankers, said di Maio.

The EU’s Naval Force launched Operation Aspides, also known as EUNAVFOR Aspides, in 2023 to combat the rising threat posed by the Houthis, who in late October 2023 began attacking ships transiting to and from Israeli ports or with links to Israel. The Houthis' launched the operations in response to the military offensive that Israel undertook in Gaza following Hamas' invasion of southern Israel earlier that month, when the Palestinian group killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.