Saudi Arabian troops have started arriving in Egypt to take part in a joint military exercise which brings together the armed forces from other Arab countries, in addition to the Egyptian army.
The first contingents of the Saudi Arabian forces were welcomed by senior officers from the two countries at the Burj Al-Arab airbase, Sabq reported.
Naval and special forces from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt will take part in the joint pan-Arab military exercise “Arabs Shield 1”, scheduled to start on Saturday and run until November 16.
Egyptian military spokesman Colonel Tamer Al Refai said that observers from Lebanon and Morocco will also attend the military manoeuvres as part “Cairo’s efforts to enhance military co-operation with other regional allies”.
Saudi Arabian Embassy military attaché to Egypt Brigadier-General Abdalla bin Youssef Al Jasser, said that the “Arabs’ Shield 1 would develop and strengthen Arab military co-operation and unify military concepts in the backdrop of mounting regional challenges”.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has been calling for Arab countries to start putting together what some White House officials have called an “Arab NATO.”
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