Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that it had completed military drills with the US and Sudan that started separately on 9 September, the Anadolu Agency reported.

The Saudi-US drills, Defensive Shield 2, were completed in the Prince Sultan Air Base.

Members from all the departments of the armed Saudi forces and American troops took part in the closing ceremony of the drills.

Commander of the Saudi Armed Operation Forces Brigadier, Mohammad Abdel-Khaliq Al-Ghamedi, stressed on the importance of joint drills in exchanging expertise and promoting training.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia enjoys a respected religious, political and economic status in the region and the world, as well as a leading role in fighting terror.

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He pointed out that the drills included theoretical classes about protection from weapons of mass destruction, running operation rooms and carrying out hypothetical field training about how to deal with crises resulting from weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, Saudi finished drills with the Sudanese ground forces in the Prince Khalid Centre for Tactical Exercises.

The drills, the Saudi news agency said, aimed at “promoting and reinforcing relations between the two countries as well as exchanging military expertise and planning for gruella war and making military decisions related to such wars.”

Commander of the Northern Area Brigadier Saleh Al-Zahrani said that this exercise “is a start and a constructive opportunity for the armies of the two countries. It aims to reach common cooperation and mutual knowledge and expertise.”

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