Egypt and Saudi Arabia started joint military training under the coalition of "Raad Al-Shamal" aiming to increase military cooperation among Arab countries. The training took place in Saudi Arabia; military personnel from Egypt and forces from at least 20 Arab and Islamic countries participated, according to Egypt's military spokesperson Mohamed Samir. Egypt is ranked second in terms of size of its forces and specialties, following Saudi Arabia among countries involved in the coalition. "The joint training aims to support the capabilities of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the coalition countries to form a common Arab defence force and to unify our plans and combat current regional challenges," he said. Over the past few days, further training sessions were conducted along with lectures, as an introduction to the trainings that will be executed during the manoeuvres phase. In December 2015, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, which raised questions over its motives and implications regarding the balance of power in the region. The coalition would confront not only the "Islamic State" (IS) but "any terrorist organisation that appears in front of us", Saudi Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at a press conference in Riyadh.
