Saudi Special Forces train with Chinese, French

Saudi and Chinese armed forces began the “Exploration 2016” joint military exercise on Wednesday. 

Special Forces of the Royal Saudi Land Forces and their counterparts in the Red Army were involved in the war games in the Chinese city of Chengdu.

The flags of the two states were raised at the beginning of the launch ceremony. This was followed by a speech delivered by mission leader Lt. Col. Walid Ettalhi, expressing his thanks to friends in the People’s Republic of China for the warm reception and generous hospitality. He stressed that the two countries’ relationship is based on ties of brotherhood, friendship and the great history.

Ettalhi pointed to the continued cooperation between the two countries at all levels, expressing his pride in participating in theses exerises, which reflect



the strong relationship between the two countries.

“The exercises aim to exchange experiences between the two sides in specialized areas. This comes within the framework of military cooperation between the two countries, and is an extension of the strong relationship between the Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China,” Ettalhi said.

The exercises began in earnest shortly after Ettalhi’s speech.

Meanwhile thousands of kilometers west, Special Forces units of the Royal Saudi Land Forces are currently participating in a joint military drill with their French counterparts in the French city of Pamiers.

The Santol exercises kicked off earlier last week and focus on training the Special Forces to deal with real-world situations.

The drill forms part of a joint training program with the French side and comes within the framework of mutual military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and France.