Commander-in-Chief attends "Hamad 1" joint drill

Manama, Apr. 22 (BNA): Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa attended today part of the joint military exercise (Hamad 1), organised by the BDF with the participation of a number of Egyptian warships and fighter aircrafts. The BDF Commander-in-Chief welcomed members of the Egyptian participants, and conveyed to them greetings from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander, and thanked them for their participation. He said the drill, engaging Egyptian armed forces, reflects outstanding historic brotherly relations between the two countries and peoples, led by His Majesty King Hamad, the Supreme Commander, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Held within the framework of bilateral military co-operation, the drill aims at consolidating deep-rooted historic relations, deepen fraternal pan-Arab relations and bolster joint Arab action, he added. The Commander-in-Chief expressed pride in the outstanding efforts exerted during the first stages of the joint drill, which, he said, reflects the advanced level of cooperation and coordination between the Bahraini and Egyptian armed forces. He highlighted the importance in such drills in enhancing the combat performance of the armed forces in the two countries, which will strengthen their defence potentials. Inspector-General Major-General Abdulla bin Hassan Al-Nuaimi opened the first day of the joint drill. After some Holy Quran verses were recited, Commander of the Royal Bahrain Naval Force (RBNF) Commodore Shaikh Khalifa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa delivered a statement in which he welcomed the Egyptian senior military officers, and thanked the Egyptian Navy for accepting the invitation to participate in the tactical marine drill- (Hamad 1). Then, the Inspector-General delivered a speech in which he welcomed members of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and thanked them for their participation in the joint exercise. He explained that the joint drill (Hamad 1), conducted jointly the BDF and the Egyptian Armed Forces aimed to consolidate the existing bilateral military cooperation reflecting the advanced level of the deep-rooted Bahraini-Egyptian relations at all levels. Then, a briefing on the tactical drill, carried out by the naval and air forces of the two countries, was presented.