The Egyptian and Saudi armed forces are conducting military drills dubbed ‘Tabuk 4′ in southern Egypt, according to Egypt’s military spokesperson, Tamer Al-Refaie, in a statement on Wednesday.

The Tabuk 4 drills aim to bolster military cooperation and ties between the two forces, in order to counter challenges and threats facing them, the statement said.

The drills include theoretical and practical exercises, exchanging combat experience, and holding an exhibition of equipment and weapons used in the exercises.

Furthermore, both participated in the Egyptian-US Bright Star drills, which kicked off last September, with the participation of other countries at the Mohamed Naguib Military Base.

Earlier in March, the Egyptian army took part in the major military drill ‘Gulf Shield 1’ in Saudi Arabia, with the participation of ground, naval, and air troops from countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).  The drills aimed to exchange expertise in the fields of planning, organizing, and implementing various training activities, as well as enhancing the skills of the joint troops.

In the past years, Egypt and Saudi Arabia conducted several joint drills, including the Morgan joint naval exercises in 2013, and the Faisal air military drills in 2017.