Documentary Studies in Arabian Geopolitics: South-West Arabia 6 Hardback Volume Set : The Saudi-Yemen Dispute

In Autumn 1995 the Saudi-Yemeni border constituted Arabias last indeterminate territorial limit, with the exception of its westernmost stretches, from the Red Sea to Najran, settled by a treaty of 1934.

Talks between the Riyadh and Sanaa Governments on the unresolved border question had been intermittently in progress since July 1992.

In February 1995 the two states signed a memorandum of understanding reaffirming the provision of the 1934 Treaty of Taif.

The Treaty was formally renewed in June 1995, providing for a re-demarcation of the westernmost boundary and establishing a procedural framework for the settlement of the remainder of the boundary further east.

The documents provide a wide historical context in which to view the efforts to finalise the political map of the south-western peninsula.

Any settlement finally reached between Saudi Arabia and Yemen will need to take full account of critical factors which have shaped the history of their borderlands.