25 March 2026
09:00 - 10:30 Europe/Oslo
Event
Breakfast seminar: Rethinking Red Sea Security: Toward a Cooperative Regional Framework
The Red Sea sits at the intersection of geopolitical rivalry, maritime insecurity, and global trade. What pathways are there toward greater cooperation and stability in the region?
Language: English
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Seminar
The Red Sea is shaped by an inextricable web of geopolitical rivalries and maritime insecurity. The region is marked by confrontations involving both state and non-state actors, competition for resources, armed conflicts, state fragility, migration and humanitarian crises. Recent disruptions to major shipping lanes have underscored the growing security challenges in the Red Sea and their direct consequences for global supply chains and freedom of navigation. Together, these dynamics contribute to instability across the basin, whereby insecurity at sea is closely linked to instability on land.
At the same time, the Red Sea holds significant opportunities for Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the wider international community. As a key maritime corridor, it is vital for global trade and regional connectivity. Realizing this potential requires moving beyond fragmented, zero-sum, and reactive approaches. Regional and international stakeholders, including European actors, need strategies that connect maritime security, integrated governance, and sustainable economic development.
This seminar builds on the recent eBook The Red Sea: Divided by Waters, United by Opportunities, co-published by the Mediterranean Platform (Rome), the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (Doha), and the Pan African Agenda (Nairobi). The eBook examines these dynamics through a multi-regional lens and highlights the need for more comprehensive and coordinated responses.
Against this backdrop, the seminar will explore pathways toward a more cooperative Red Sea framework. These include harnessing “low-hanging fruit”, such as dialogue initiatives and confidence-building measures. Furthermore, gradually developing integrated governance mechanisms could strengthen trade corridors and the blue economy. Over time, these steps point toward the establishment of more ambitious institutional platforms to foster coordination, stability and shared prosperity across the basin.
- Luigi Narbone (Mediterranean Platform): “The Red Sea Beneath the Surface: A Shared but Unequal Maritime Space”. (Presentation of the new ebook: The Red Sea: Divided by Waters, United by Opportunities and updated reflections on the third Gulf War).
- Stig Jarle Hansen (NMBU): “Red Sea security in the shadow of the Iran war: The Houthis and Israel’s role in the Red Sea”
- Fatiha Dazi-Héni (IRSEM): “Challenges of the UAE policy in the Red Sea and in the Horn of Africa”
- Virginie Collombier (Mediterranean Platform): “Red Sea instability and its implications for Libya: security, regional actors, and migration”
The event is held at NUPI, and a light breakfast will be served from 08:30. We will also live stream this seminar. No registration needed for digital participation.
Speakers
Stig Jarle Hansen
Professor, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Luigi Narbone
Professor and Vice-President, Mediterranean Platform
Virginie Collombier
President and Co-Founder, Mediterranean Platform
Fatiha Dazi-Héni
Gulf and Middle East Researcher, Institute for Strategic Research at the Military School (IRSEM)
Moderator
Tine Gade
Senior Research Fellow
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25 March 2026
09:00 - 10:30 Europe/Oslo
Language: English
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Seminar