John Jason Junior / Wikimedia Commons / CC0
MANAMA – Gulf Cooperation Council defense ministers approved opening a forward command of the Unified Military Command in Kuwait and allocating suitable forces to it, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said Tuesday.
The decision was among those adopted at the 23rd session of the GCC Joint Defense Council in Manama on November 10, according to a statement from the GCC Secretariat. Bahrain’s Defence Affairs Minister, Lt. Gen. Abdullah bin Hassan Al Nuaimi, chaired the meeting, which brought together defense ministers from the council’s member states.
The announcement establishes approval for a forward command and an allocation of forces. It did not identify a force size, deployment date, specific location within Kuwait or funding arrangements. It also did not announce that the Unified Military Command’s entire headquarters would move to Kuwait.
Albudaiwi described the decision as part of efforts to strengthen joint Gulf military work and the member states’ ability to confront shared threats. He referred to directions from GCC leaders at their extraordinary meeting in Jeddah in April to reinforce military cooperation and protect member states’ security and sovereignty.
The secretary-general praised military coordination among GCC countries in responding to regional developments. He said their cooperation reflected a shared responsibility for protecting territory, national assets, citizens and residents.
In the same statement, Albudaiwi condemned what he described as Iranian attacks on GCC states and damage to civilian facilities and infrastructure. He also condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including what he said was the targeting of holy sites. Those descriptions were his statements; the release did not provide a new incident-by-incident account.
Albudaiwi said GCC countries stood together in support of Saudi Arabia and the measures it takes to protect its security, territorial integrity and holy sites. He described Saudi security as inseparable from that of the other member states.
He said the meeting’s agenda included other decisions intended to deepen military integration, but the statement did not set out their operational details. For the Kuwait forward command, the public announcement remains an approval rather than confirmation that a force has already been deployed.
JBizNews Desk | Manama
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