Manama: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Crown Mohammad Bin Nayef Al Saud has said the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are capable of effectively confronting any potential security threats and protecting their people.
“No matter how powerful and dangerous those who try to undermine our security and stability are, they are dwarfed by the robustness of our position and the severity of our responses,” Prince Mohammad, who is also Saudi Arabia’s deputy premier and minister of interior, said as he officially opened the 35th Session of the GCC Interior Ministers in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday.
The GCC, set up in 1981, comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“We draw our strength, in confronting the dangers of criminal acts and antagonistic plotting, from God as well as from the competence of our security agencies, our national cohesion and unity, our sound intellectual capacities and our deep experiences in dealing with challenges.”
Prince Mohammad said security drills that have recently concluded in Bahrain were a shining example and successful applications of the advanced security cooperation among the GCC countries and of their high awareness of the risks resulting from recklessness or negligence.
“Our security in the Gulf, strategic depth and economic weight are surrounded by several security threats in light of the intellectual deviations, sectarian conflicts and terrorist phenomena supported by states and organisations. We are well aware of their objectives and orientations and we are capable of warding off their threats and maintaining the security of our countries and peoples,” he said.
The GCC security agencies are operating in accordance with an integrated vision and high standards that pre-empt crimes and deter aggressors, Prince Nayef added.
