RIYADH: The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) began a joint exercise on Sunday to prepare for attacks against the Kingdom’s oil installations.
The five-day exercise is taking place at King Abdulaziz Naval Base in Jubail in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province, the Ministry of Defense said.
The “Confrontation 4” maneuvers include units from the Eastern Fleet, the Ministry of Interior represented by the Eastern Province Border Guards, the Presidency of State Security, and the Ministry of Energy represented by Saudi Aramco and Aramco Gulf Operations Company.
The exercise along the Arabian Gulf coast, aims to raise the “readiness and preparedness of all participating units to confront terrorist operations against oil installations,” the ministry said.
It will also improve the level of coordination and information exchange, and unify leadership and communication between the participating units.
Maj. Gen. Majid bin Hazza Al-Qahtani, commander of the Eastern Fleet, said the exercise would contribute to “achieving the security and safety of vital installations and oil fields.”
They would also help secure freedom of navigation in regional waters and shipping lanes in the Arabian Gulf.
RSNF also began a mixed exercise with their Sudanese counterparts at the King Faisal Naval Base in the Western Fleet, the ministry said.
The “Astronomy 4” exercises will continue until Thursday.
The exercises aim to develop the command and control process during joint operations between the two naval forces to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security in the Red Sea, Brig. Gen. Hazza Al-Mutairi, the commander of the exercise, said.
Meanwhile, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has concluded preparations to begin the ACES MEET 2021 exercise with their Pakistani counterpart.
The Pakistan Air Force is hosting a multinational exercise on March 27 at the PAF Base Mushaf in Sargodha in Punjab province, The RSAF will participate with a number of modern Panavia Tornado combat aircraft and all its technical and support aircrews.
Saudi naval forces begin exercises to protect oil installations
https://arab.news/69cn8
Saudi naval forces begin exercises to protect oil installations
- RSNF began joint exercise with Sudanese counterparts in Western Fleet
- RSAF concludes preparations to begin the ACES MEET 2021 in Pakistan
Smart mangrove restoration initiative launched along the beaches of Rabigh
JEDDAH: An initiative to plant 400,000 mangrove trees along the beaches of Rabigh that will be digitally monitored was launched by Governor Khalid Al-Mubairik.
The scheme involves the Makkah branches of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and the environmental consultancy Netzero, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
According to the SPA, the initiative seeks to expand vegetation cover, mitigate the effects of climate change, and enhance carbon absorption, thereby directly supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative, which aims to increase green cover, protect the natural environment, and advance the Kingdom’s transition toward net-zero carbon emissions, while serving as a model for smart afforestation solutions grounded in impact measurement and enhanced transparency.
The initiative builds on a previous effort launched last November, which aimed to plant 175,000 digitally monitored mangrove trees with an estimated carbon absorption capacity of up to 21,000 tonnes over six years, raising the combined goal of both initiatives to 400,000 digitally monitored mangrove trees.
The two initiatives will be implemented in partnership with the private sector through an integrated model that reflects public-private collaboration and strengthens the role of high-quality initiatives in advancing environmental sustainability, in line with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
