CAIRO, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian and Saudi forces started on Wednesday their joint military drills dubbed "Tabuk 4" in Egypt's southern military region, an Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement.
"The drills aim to develop and strengthen military cooperation between the Egyptian armed forces and their Saudi counterparts," said Tamer al-Refai, stressing the significance of Egyptian-Saudi military collaboration amid the ongoing regional challenges.
The event, which will continue for several days, will feature theoretical and practical seminars on combat skills as well as a military equipment exhibition, according to the statement.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are key regional allies that enjoy mutual strategic political, economic and military relations.
Saudi Arabia was one of the states that took part in the Egyptian-U.S. "Bright Star" military drills in Egypt last month, the largest of their kind in the region.
In August, Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and the United States, participated in "Eagle Response 2018" joint military exercise held in the Egyptian territorial waters in the Red Sea.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia also took part in joint and multilateral military exercises, including "the Gulf Shield" drills in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, "Faisal" air military training in September 2017, and "Morgan" joint naval exercises in the Red Sea in 2015.
