LONDON: Saudi Arabian troops started arriving in Egypt on Wednesday as part of a joint exercise involving armed forces from other Arab countries and the Egyptian military. In a statement made on Facebook, Egyptian military spokesman Col. Tamer Al-Refai said that air, ground, naval and special forces from the Kingdom, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan were arriving in Egypt for the exercises called “The Shield of the Arabs 1,” due to be held from Nov. 3-16. Al-Refai said observers from Lebanon and Morocco will also attend the maneuvers. Al-Refai said the exercises were part of Egypt’s efforts to enhance military cooperation with other regional allies but declined to speculate on whether they could evolve into some sort of a military alliance. Saudi Arabia’s military attaché to Egypt, Brig. Abdullah bin Yusuf Al-Jasser, said that the exercises would “develop and strengthen military cooperation between the armed forces of the Arab countries.” US President Donald Trump’s administration has been calling for Arab countries to start putting together what some White House officials have called an “Arab NATO.”