General Al-Bunyan said, ''Allah Almighty bestowed on our homelands many blessings including the blessing of security and stability which the leaders are keen on maintaining and due to their wise visions, the largest Arab and Islamic military gathering being witnessed in the region has been achieved, as participants in this exercise included joint military forces from 20 Arab and Islamic states in response to the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in this exercise preceded by holding conferences to develop the concept and planning; and the arrival of troops to the gathering area took three days and training on the mission took within 15 days''. He described the exercise as one of the largest military exercises in terms of the number of participating troops and the widening zone of military operations that cover the presumptive theater of northern region operations, which coincides with implementation of the field exercise in the sectors of operational responsibility of the northern border to be followed tomorrow by a military parade of all participating countries. General Al-Bunyan pointed out that the exercise aimed at boosting the unity of ranks, warding off the dangers facing Arab and Islamic nations, maintaining the security and stability and raising the levels of combating readiness. --More 14:51 LOCAL TIME 11:51 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w