Sudan, Saudi Arabia conclude joint naval exercise

March 1, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Navy and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces on Thursday have concluded a joint maritime military exercise conducted in the navy base of Port Sudan.

The final ceremony of the manoeuvres dubbed “Al-Fulk 3” was attended by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sudanese Navy Magdi Sayed Omer and the representative of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Yahia bin Ali al-Ni’mi.

The final ceremony included a scenario of an attack on a coastal target with the participation of the marine forces and the special naval security units.

It is noteworthy that the Sudanese Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces conducted their first joint maritime military exercise in February 2013.

In recent years, Sudan has developed close diplomatic and military ties with Saudi Arabia, especially after it broke its decades-old relations with Iran.

Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab investor in Sudan. In 2016, Saudi investments in Sudan increased to $15bn compared to $11bn in 2015.

Also, the Sudanese army has been participating in the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen since 2015 in a regional effort to back the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after he was ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels.

Sudan was among 23 countries that took part in the “Gulf Shield-1” military drills in March 2018 in Saudi Arabia.

Also, Sudanese troops participated in the ’North Thunder’ military drill with troops from 20 nations in Saudi Arabia on 16 February 2016.

(ST)