Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Prince Muhammad Bin Naif (R) speaks with Britain’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 3, 2015. (Saudi Press Agency)
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Plans to strengthen Britain’s military presence in Bahrain will benefit the entire Gulf region, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said on Tuesday during a visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Fallon, who was in Riyadh as part of a region-wide visit, said plans to expand facilities at the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Mina Salman Port will help Britain and its Gulf allies deal more swiftly with regional security threats.
The base is used to support British naval ships in the Gulf but is limited by its size and lack of facilities. The expansion will now enable it to accommodate Royal Navy personnel and provide support for the long-term deployment of more, and larger, British naval ships in the Gulf.
Fallon added that work on the base could be completed by the end of this year, though initial announcements have said the expansion is likely to be finished during 2016.
The plans strengthen British military presence in the region at a time when the UK is stepping up its involvement in the international coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the region.
Fallon said in January that Britain would begin training members of moderate Syrian opposition groups who are fighting ISIS in Syria, and reiterated the importance of its aerial support for Iraqi troops fighting the group in Iraq.
Fallon said the UK’s strategy in the fight against the group focused on defeating it militarily, but added that efforts must also be increased to fight the group on the political, ideological, cultural and intellectual fronts.
As part of his current tour of the Middle East, Fallon has already met with several officials and heads of state including Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.
On Tuesday he met with Saudi Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz; Deputy Crown Prince, Interior Minister and Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Muhammad Bin Naif; and his counterpart Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, who in addition to being the Kingdom’s defense minister also serves as an adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and heads the Saudi Royal Court.