Manama: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders will hold their annual advisory meeting in Riyadh on May 11.

The one-day gathering, held between official summits of the heads of the six countries, usually has no specific agenda and is open to all subjects of interest to the member states.

"I will brief the GCC leaders about the military cooperation, including the formation of a rapid intervention force," Abdul Rahman Al Atiyyah, the GCC secretary general, said.

"The report was drafted following the meeting in Kuwait of the high Gulf military committee made up of the chiefs of staff of the member countries," Al Atiyyah told Qatari daily Al Sharq.

The meeting reviewed all aspects related to the formation of the force under the umbrella of the cooperation council and the Peninsula Shield, the GCC head said.

The GCC leaders at their last summit in Kuwait in December agreed to form a rapid intervention force to combat foreign aggression.

"The joint force would be functional to address emergency situation and support stability in the world's largest oil exporting region," Al Atiyyah said in December as he read out the summit communiqué. He did not however give details about its size.

The Saudi Gazette later reported that the force would be stationed at the King Khaled Military Base in Hafr Al Baten.

“Saudi Arabia will provide most of the manpower for the infantry force,” Maj. Gen. Khalifah Al Kaabi, Assistant General Secretary of the GCC Council for Military Affairs, was quoted by the daily.

"The GCC countries will later agree on the amount of manpower and equipment that they will each provide to the force."

The formation of the swift intervention force was announced as Saudi Arabia was facing incursions from Yemeni Houthi rebels. All GCC countries expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and supported Yemen in their confrontation with the rebels.

The GCC in 1984 established the Peninsula Shield to deter and respond to military aggression against any of the GCC member countries.

Once a standing force of 9,000 troops based in Saudi Arabia, the GCC countries in 2008 agreed to transform the Peninsula Shield into a quick-reaction outfit that will draw upon 22,000 service members based in their home countries and that will feature airlift and naval power, two capabilities it initially lacked.

In November, a Bahraini lawmaker urged GCC leaders to revive the Peninsula Shield, to help "eliminate the Houthi rebels."

"There is a cancerous situation spreading in the region and we should work together to eliminate it before it reaches inexorable stages. There is no room for leniency or complacency and we must deter all those targeting the Gulf. Each of the GCC countries should contribute with its forces in tackling hot spots," MP Jassem Al Saeedi said.

"The armed rebellion against Yemen has not come from a vacuum, but had been prepared for a long time to create a front that would strike both north of Yemen and south of Saudi Arabia. This dangerous situation is likely to be duplicated in other GCC countries, including Bahrain. All Gulf countries should stand together to confront this danger because it is not confined to Saudi Arabia," Al Saeedi, an independent Salafi MP, said.