Saudi Arabia’s Chief of the General Staff, Lt. General Fayyad bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili received in Riyadh Wednesday the Commander of the Egyptian Navy, Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled Hassan.

During the meeting, aspects of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the defense field were reviewed, as well as the latest developments in the region and the joint efforts being exerted to maintain international peace and security, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

In implementation of the order of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Chief of General Staff decorated the Commander of the Egyptian Navy with King Abdulaziz Medal of First Class.

The meeting was attended by the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Lieutenant General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghafili and a number of senior commanders of the Armed Forces.

Born on 27 April 1958, Lt. General Fayyadh bin Hamid Al Ruwaili is a Saudi Arabian Pilot and General who has served as the Commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) on two occasions, most recently since a shakeup of the military high command on 26 February 2018 by King Salman. Before that he served as the Commander of the RSAF from 10 May 2013 until 14 May 2014. In between, from 2014 until his new re-appointment in 2018 as RSAF Commander, time he served as the Deputy Chief of the Saudi General Staff.

General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghafili is the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. Al-Ghafili holds a bachelor’s degree in marine and military sciences, as well as a master’s in national security strategy. He completed numerous courses including the foundational course for executive officers, intelligence officers and sessions on chief operations. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Saudi Navy and then served as Commander of the Eastern Fleet for several years.

Lt. General Al-Ghafili was the Head of the anti-submarine division; he also served as Head of operations, Head of intelligence, Commander of ships and fleets, as a Military Adviser and became Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in November 2017.

The Egyptian Navy, also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East and Africa, and is the sixth largest in the world measured by the number of vessels. The navy’s missions include protection of more than 2,000 kilometers of coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, defense of approaches to the Suez Canal, and support for army operations. In 1989, the Egyptian Navy had 18,000 personnel as well as 2,000 personnel in the Coast Guard.

The Commander of the Egyptian Navy, Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled Hassan, was born on 01 January 1957. He graduated from the Naval Academy on 26 June 1978.

His military education includes: B.Sc. in Naval Studies; Advanced Executives Course; M.A. in Military Sciences from Command and Staff College; and Higher War College Fellowship from Nasser Higher Military Academy.