CAIRO, April 16, 2018 - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi returned to Cairo yesterday following a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia during which he took part in the Arab summit conference and attended the final stage of the Joint Gulf Shield 1 drill. Before flying back to Cairo, President Sisi had been invited by King Salman ben Abdel-Aziz of Saudi Arabia to watch the Gulf Shield drill which was conducted in Jubail in the kingdom's Eastern Province. In statements during the event, the Egyptian leader paid tribute to the performance of the participating troops, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported in a dispatch from Jubail. Such performance, President Sisi said, reflected the participating troops' high combat capability and outstanding preparedness and alertness. Such manoeuvres and joint military exercises, President Sisi said, contribute to the consolidation of co-operation and coordination between the participating troops in such a way that ensures their readiness to confront various challenges and risks that the region is facing and also their capability to protect the potentials of peoples. Egyptian troops, represented by elements from the Air Force, the Rangers, the Paratroopers, Navy and military police joined the month-long exercise comes at the forefront of countries participating in the military drill. Ground, naval and air forces from 25 countries took part in the exercise, the news agency reported. In a statement to the event, the Chief of Staff of Saudi Arabia's army, Gen. Fayyad al-Ruweili, expressed appreciation for the presence of President Sisi and a number of the leaders of the countries whose armies joined the drill. The Saudi army's Chief of Staff also noted in his statement that the global strategic environment has become more complex as a result of the growth of the threats of terrorism which is sponsored by some countries and whose ideology is based upon abominable fanaticism. Emir Sabah of Kuwait, King Abdullah II of Jordan and King Hamad of Bahrain and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the event. Also invited to the event were Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Chadian President Idriss Déby, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and a host of representatives of the countries that contributed troops to the drill. President Sisi began his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday and on Sunday led the Egyptian delegation to the 29th Arab summit conference that took place in Dhahran. In an address to the gathering of Arab Heads of State and Government, the Egyptian leader called for developing a comprehensive Arab national security strategy to counter the unprecedented challenges and threats to the national state in the Arab region. The training is also considered one of the joint manoeuvres that provide a suitable environment for tactic and field expertise in order to assert the capabilities of the forces on implementing joint land, naval and air operations to protect the vital interests and face the threats and hostilities targeting the security and stability of the region. Participating in the Gulf shield 1 drill were Egypt, Jordan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Pakistan, Bahrain, Britain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Turkey, Chad, Djibouti, Sudan, Qatar, Comoros, Oman, Gambia, Guinea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Niger, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The drill is a continuation of a series of joint drills that are being carried out by the Egyptian Armed Forces in cooperation with its partners from other friendly Arab counties and within the framework of supporting partnership relations, military co-operation and exchange of expertise in various fields.
