CAIRO — Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid Falih said Aug. 4 that his country had resumed oil exports via Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Oil exports were temporarily halted on July 26 after an attack on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi militias.

The decision to resume oil shipments through the busy trade route came hours after the end of the joint maritime exercises, dubbed Eagle Salute 18, in the Red Sea between the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which took place July 26 through Aug. 4.

A well-informed source in the Suez Canal Authority told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that on the sidelines of the naval military exercises, the Egyptian military authorities discussed with their Saudi counterparts the need to resume oil shipments through the strait.

The source added that the halt of Saudi oil exports through the lane would have caused a major crisis of navigation in the Suez Canal, particularly since Egypt hopes trade through the canal will set the wheel of the Egyptian economy in motion in the coming years. Egypt’s economic plan is focused on turning the Suez Canal region into an economic hub and an attraction for investments, including industrial and logistical zones.