These exercises are part of the extensive programme of joint military collaboration between the two countries

Emirates and Saudi Arabia launch 'One Destiny' military exercises

photo_camera PHOTO/WAM - Joint military exercises between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia

Several units of the Royal Land Forces of the Saudi Arabian Army arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to take part in the joint military exercise with the Emirati Armed Forces called 'One Destiny', which will take place over three weeks.

The challenge of this initiative is to strengthen joint defence and military collaboration between the two friendly nations, in addition to sharing knowledge on the latest military advances thanks to the various stages of military training that will take place over the next three weeks in Emirati territory. 

These military exercises are also aimed at achieving operational readiness and compatibility and integration, raising the level of operational capabilities of the participating units, unifying concepts, achieving homogeneity and consensus, as well as consolidating the principles and foundations of coordination and joint action, as reported by the Emirati news agency WAM.

Ejercicios militares conjuntos de Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Arabia Saudí

'One Destiny' is part of an extensive programme of joint military manoeuvres between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two partner countries and allies in the Middle East that have worked and intervened together in various conflicts, such as the war in Yemen, where they are part of the Arab alliance facing the Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran and seek to undermine the legally established government; Or the war in Libya, where they have supported the Libyan National Army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who fought in the Libyan civil war against the National Unity Government of Fayez Sarraj, which received the support of other countries such as Qatar and Turkey, before the new stage of democratic transition opened with the interim government of Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, which seeks to materialise the next Libyan elections in December to put an end to the last stage of the conflict. 

These joint military exercises between Saudi Arabia and the UAE demonstrate the close relationship between these allies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with common positions on other relevant political issues such as opposition to the aggressive and belligerent stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran in relation to its interference in the internal affairs of other states, This is the case in various countries or areas such as Lebanon with Hezbollah, Palestine with the Hamas militia, Afghanistan with the Liwa Fatemiyoun group and Iraq with the Popular Mobilisation Forces. 

Ejercicios militares conjuntos de Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Arabia Saudí

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates also oppose Iran's nuclear programme, which has been under discussion for many months with equal parts progress and setbacks since the United States abandoned the JCPOA nuclear pact that limited Persian nuclear development, especially in the military sphere, in exchange for political and economic benefits; an American abandonment that was due to Iran's non-compliance with key points of the nuclear pact itself. 

Similarly, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also supported the joint decision in January this year to resume diplomatic relations with Qatar to end the political and financial blockade imposed on the Qatari country in 2017 after accusing it of supporting transnational terrorism. The Al-Ula declaration put an end to that conflict and brought about political rapprochement between Qatar and the rest of the Gulf Arab countries. 

Ejercicios militares conjuntos de Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Arabia Saudí

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE also conduct military exercises with other nations. It is worth highlighting here, for example, the drill carried out by the Saudi army with Greek special forces, with the Mediterranean area as a point of interest, following the confrontation that has been taking place in recent times with the gas exploration carried out by Turkey and denounced by various countries such as Greece and Cyprus for allegedly violating their own maritime borders. Along these lines, Greece has also maintained contacts with the UAE on military matters; the Emirati chief of staff attended joint military exercises in Crete. The UAE also recently participated in a joint military exercise with Egypt, with UAE Armed Forces units taking part in the 'Saif al-Arab' manoeuvres held at the Mohamed Naguib military base and other parts of Egypt's Northern Military Region at the end of last year. 

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