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Bahraini King Announces a New Gulf Military Exercise | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Saudi Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz and other princes and ministers during the closing ceremony of Arabian Gulf Security 1. (SPA)


Manama– King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the Supreme Commander attended the conclusion of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) joint-security exercise “Arabian Gulf Security 1” which started on October 27 in Bahrain.

The final ceremony was also attended by: Saudi Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, UAE Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Kuwaiti Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Shaikh Mohammed Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah, Omani Interior Minister Humood bin Faisal al-Bousaidi and the GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Rashid al-Zayani.

The King welcomed them all and thanked them for attending the major security gathering. They conveyed to the King greetings from the GCC leaders, wishing health and happiness and Bahrain further progress and prosperity. The King also extended greetings to the GCC leaders, wishing their countries further progress and prosperity.

The exercise started with a parade by the GCC Joint Armed Forces, which included exercises of anti-terrorism teams, equipment overland intrusion equipment and air support snipers exercises, in order to raise the coordination and cooperation level to counter security risks and ways to maintain security facilities.

It also included parade and presentations by forces of rapid intervention, anti-explosives teams, combat units, Special Forces as well as land and marine armored military and infantry and military vehicles.

At the conclusion of the security exercise, King Hamad welcomed the Interior Minister and affiliates’ sincere efforts that performed accurate preparation, planning and execution of the key exercise that contributed to accomplishing the desired goals, wishing them further successes to come. He paid tribute to all security personnel defending the nation’s security.

King Hamad congratulated the GCC interior ministers for the remarkable security achievement and expressed appreciation of their confidence in Bahrain’s capabilities to host the first joint security exercise in implementation of the Gulf leaders.

The King hoped another exercise will soon take place in a GCC country.

Lt. Gen. Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa underscored the crucial importance of the drill which, he said, represents a value-added exercise that contributes to bolstering GCC coordination and lays the foundations for field security cooperation.

“The joint drill consolidated confidence in the viability of collective work, bolstered the spirit of teamwork and highlighted the importance of security depth”, Sheikh Rashid added.

He stressed the necessity of building on the success of “Arabian Gulf Security 1” to project a unified response to any attempt to subvert the security and stability of the GCC countries.

The GCC interior ministers expressed utmost gratitude to King Hamad for his keen interest in attending the exercise which reflects his appreciation of the joint GCC security action and its role in maintaining the GCC security and bolstering its blessed march.

They praised the organizational efforts and support of Bahrain’s Interior Ministry and the directives of the Interior Minister, the exercise commander, on providing the support needed to ensure the success of the exercise.

Speaking on the importance of the drill, Saudi representative Brigadier Ahmad al-Asiri said that regional security threats required GCC countries to hold such exercises to defend the lives of their citizens.

Terrorism, organized crime, and other threats require a more coordinative effort to fend of challenges that might face the Gulf States, said Asiri.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz returned to Riyadh on Wednesday after attending Arabian Gulf Security 1.