Interior Minister attends joint Arabian Gulf Security 2 Exercise

Dubai, Feb. 20(BNA): Interior Minister, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa participated in the final ceremony of the joint Arabian Gulf Security 2 Exercise that was held at the Dubai Police Academy in the United Arab Emirates. It was the second exercise for police and security organisations as part of the implementation of the decisions of the GCC Interior Ministers. The first exercise was held in November 2016 in Bahrain to reinforce regional cooperation and exchange of expertise to deal with common challenges. The minister asserted that the Arabian Gulf Security 2 exercise was a pioneer turning point in security cooperation and reflected unity in performing security duties. It also represented an enhancement to the security cooperation and coordination system and exchange of expertise between Gulf countries to improve their capabilities to deal with challenges and fast regional changes, especially counter-terrorism issues. He noted that fieldwork and security cooperation are the best methods to promote cohesion and joint work. He added that the current regional challenges and threats require revisions of stands and joint capabilities to be set within advance cooperation and coordination framework, out of the common fate concept. There is a need to continue working to enhance preparedness and unification of concepts to face all types of threats and exchange of expertise and information to protect security and stability. The minister expressed thanks and appreciation to the UAE Interior Ministry for efforts in organising the event to achieve its goals, especially reinforcement of cooperation, expertise and experiences to face common threats. He also expressed appreciation of the advanced capabilities, readiness and competency of the participating forces and their professionalism in carrying out the exercise. The event started with preforming the scenarios of the exercise, of which the forces showcased with their equipment, devices and personnel their high skills and readiness. The training aimed to get the forces ready to deal with emergencies and enhance the preparedness between security authorities of Gulf Interior Ministries. The minister was received upon his arrival to the UAE on Thursday by Lt. General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. The GCC Interior Ministers toured the Expo 2020 that is being hosted in Dubai for the first time in the MENA and South Asia regions under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. Bahrain takes part in the exhibition to highlight its geographic contributions to promoting trade and creativity. The minister was briefed about the event that will be held from October 20 to April 10.