Defence minister attends GCC meeting

Minister of State for Defence Affairs Lieutenant-General Dr. Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa attended the two-day GCC defence ministers’ meeting which concluded today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Joint Defence Council of Ministers of Defence of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) strongly condemned the recent blasts which hit Bahrain, reiterating GCC full support for the Kingdom. In a statement issued following the conclusion of its 11th session here, the council said that it had discussed joint military and defence action and agreed on strengthening defence complementarity, developing the Joint Peninsula Shield Forces and establishing a GCC Institute for Defence and Security. Bahrain’s delegation included BDF assistant chief of staff Major General Dhiab Saqer Al-Nuaimi, Royal Airforce Commander Major-General Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa and other senior officers.