RIYADH: The Royal Saudi Naval Forces started the fifth edition of a joint exercise with the Jordanian Armed Forces, the Saudi Defense Ministry said on Sunday. The “Safe-Beach 5” drill, which continues until Thursday, is being held with the Kingdom’s Eastern Fleet. Rear Admiral Ali Al-Shehri, commander of the RSNF taking part in the exercise, said that the maneuvers include several joint military operations with the aim of raising the readiness and combat capacity of the participating units, strengthening military cooperation between the two countries and exchanging expertise of combat in built-up areas. He added that the coordination, cooperation and preparation for the launch of the exercise was carried out with a high degree of skill, wishing all participants success in achieving the set targets. Col. Khalid Al-Balawi, director of the exercise, said that the drills are part of “a unified strategy to enhance military cooperation between the Saudi and Jordanian armed forces.” He said that theoretical and practical exercises that constitute important training in exchanging expertise and unifying common military concepts will be applied through the drills. Meanwhile, the ministry said on Sunday that the Royal Saudi Land Forces launched a mixed bilateral ground exercise on Thursday with the participation of Egyptian land forces in the Kingdom’s northwestern region. The “Tabuk-5” exercise, which is also part of a series of joint exercises with allied countries, aims to enhance military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Egypt.