GCC joint rapid deployment force to be set up this year

Manama: The Gulf Cooperation Council joint rapid deployment force could be set up this year, the Saudi chief of staff has said.

"We expect the force to be established this year and it will be headquartered in the King Khalid Military City," General Saleh Bin Ali Al Mahya was quoted as saying by Al Ayam in Manama where he is attending the Bahrain International Air Show.

GCC states had agreed at their last summit in Kuwait in December to create a joint rapid deployment force that would address security threats in the world’s top oil-exporting region.

Abdul Rahman Al Atiyyah, GCC secretary general, said that the force would be one of the pillars supporting stability and security in the region.

King Khalid Military City is home to the Peninsula Shield, the GCC defense force set up in 1986.

The force helped in the liberation of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War and was deployed there in 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq.

In his statement, Al Mahya denied reports that the Peninsula Shield would be relocated.