The Italo-Yemeni Treaty of 1926 (also known as the Treaty of San'a) was a treaty

Treaty

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

 between the Kingdom of Italy

Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)

The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...

 and Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen

Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen

The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , sometimes spelled Mutawakelite Kingdom of Yemen, also known as the Kingdom of Yemen or as North Yemen, was a country from 1918 to 1962 in the northern part of what is now Yemen...

.

Background

The Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 was of strategic importance to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 due to both trade and as a route for its navy to pass through in order to reach India among other places. South of Yemen was the British Colony of Aden and Aden Protectorate

Aden Protectorate

The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of Aden following the acquisition of that port by Britain in 1839 as an anti-piracy station, and it continued until the 1960s. For administrative purposes it was divided into the Western...

 which were at considerable risk of anti-colonialist rebellions. Italy had colonies of its own in the region: Eritrea and Somaliland

Italian Somaliland

Italian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...

, both of low profitability. There was considerable belief that increased ties with Yemen would fuel increased trade with the colonies and bring the region under the Italian sphere

Sphere of influence

In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....

. The Yemeni Kingdom at this point had its eye on annexing Aden and, with the advent of Imam Yahya, also had aspirations for a Greater Yemen

Greater Yemen

Greater Yemen is a geographic term denoting the present territory of the Republic of Yemen as well as the Saudi regions of 'Asir, Najran Province, Jizan Province, the adjacent islands in the Red Sea and the adjacent parts of Tihamah and sometimes the Omani province of Dhofar.Greater Yemen is also...

.

The Treaty

In September 1926 the Treaty was signed and was described as a friendship treaty. The treaty recognized Yahya as King of Yemen and his claims to Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

. It was renewed on October 15, 1937.

External links

• The foreign office and Anglo-Italian involvement in the Red Sea and Arabia, 1925-28.