Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah, minister of foreign affairs, and Dr. Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani, GCC secretary general, signed here on Sunday the GCC Unified Military Command Headquarters Agreement, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The agreement comes as a result of the decision issued by the 34th session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab States held in Kuwait in 2013, which included establishment of the unified military command of the GCC states, as well as the decisions approved by the GCC defense ministers in the 12th session held in Bahrain in 2013, which included establishment of the headquarters of the unified military command.

The agreement seeks to reach cooperation and coordination in the fields of security and defense, to maintain stability in the GCC states, and to achieve self-defense based on the principle of collective security.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Commander of GCC Unified Military Command Eid Bin Awadh Al-Shalawi and GCC Assistant Secretary General for Military Affairs Ahmed Ali Hamid Al-Ali.

On this occasion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the signing of the agreement, which reflects the Kingdom's support for GCC joint action and facilitating the task of the unified military command.

In this regard, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman was keen to complete its requirements within the framework of his vision to move the GCC joint action from a phase of cooperation to integration.

For his part, Dr. Al-Zayani thanked King Salman for the care given by the government of the Kingdom to the GCC General Secretariat. The GCC secretary general hailed the launch of the work of the unified military command from Riyadh and the care it received from the GCC leaders, along with the Joint Defense Council, considering it an important military system for consolidating defense cooperation and integration among the member states, wishing for their leadership and employees, steady progress and success.