Strengthening Cooperation and Security in the Middle East Act
The Strengthening Cooperation and Security in the Middle East Act would require the U.S. Secretary of State, working with the Secretary of Defense, to study and boost membership in the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (CSIPA), a regional security and prosperity framework established in September 2023. The bill orders a detailed report within 180 days that analyzes the strategic benefits of CSIPA, including joint military readiness, economic and technology cooperation, and regional alliances, and how CSIPA could help respond to recent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and support operations tied to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. It also directs a plan for broadening CSIPA membership and a separate strategy within another 180 days on how to engage additional allied countries to join, plus a 60-day briefing on implementation. The reports would be unclassified unless a classified annex is needed. The committees involved are House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services, and Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services.
Key Points
- 1Requires a report within 180 days detailing a strategy to increase CSIPA membership, with analysis of CSIPA’s comprehensive strategic benefits (military readiness, economic and tech cooperation, regional alliances) and its role in rapid responses to threats such as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
- 2The report must examine how CSIPA could leverage the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet in Bahrain for deterrence and rapid responses to threats from Iran or other adversaries, and assess long-term benefits and barriers to expansion.
- 3Requires recommendations on how CSIPA could be broadened to foster regional security integration, expand cooperation in commerce, science, and technology, and specify resources and capabilities needed to grow membership; include domestic and regional factors that may limit expansion.
- 4Requires a follow-on strategy within 180 days after the report to engage allied countries (inside and outside the Middle East) to join CSIPA, with affirmative steps the Administration can take to increase membership; a briefing on a plan to implement the strategy within 60 days.
- 5Reports and strategy must be submitted in unclassified form (with the possibility of a classified annex); “appropriate congressional committees” are defined as the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services, and the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees.