The Royal Saudi Naval Forces concluded a joint maritime exercise with their counterparts from the Jordanian Armed Forces, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said on Thursday.

Safe Beach 5, which began on Sunday 09 January, took place in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Fleet.

The off-shore drill included implementation of a number of real-life scenarios to address the region’s challenges and to carry out plans prepared to develop the operational combat readiness of the participating forces, according to a joint statement.

This sea-based exercise comes as a continuation of the series of joint drills held annually aimed to strengthen joint Jordanian-Saudi military cooperation relations, the statement added.

Major General Ali bin Saeed Al-Shehri, Commander of the participating forces, thanked the participants from the Royal Jordanian Naval Forces for their cooperation and said the fifth staging of the joint exercise had been completed with a high degree of skill.

The exercise is designed to boost military cooperation, coordination and the exchange of expertise between the nations’ forces, authorities said. A number of operations took place with the aim of raising levels of readiness and enhancing combat capabilities.

Colonel Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Bliwi, Director of the exercise, said that the participants in Safe Beach 5 successfully completed all of its stages, theoretical and operational, with high levels of skill and proficiency, which reflected the quality of the preparation, coordination and implementation.

“The goals set for this exercise were achieved with all seriousness and in the spirit of unified joint action,” he said. (Photo © Saudi Ministry of Defense)