Saudi Arabia, UAE launch 44 joint projects

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday announced a new alliance of joint economic, development and military strategy through 44 projects.

The joint strategy will further push strong ties between the two countries, reports Xinhua news agency.

The two countries named the new cooperation "Ala'Azm", which means determination, after it was reviewed by 350 officials from 139 governmental, sovereign and military bodies of the two sides within 12 months.

The strategy focuses on three aspects: economy, human and knowledge, and politics, security and military, the report said.

The announcement of the strategy coincides with the first meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council co-chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

They decided to spend 60 months to implement the projects, to support the joint Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) cooperation, contribute to protecting the gains and interests, and create new opportunities for the people of the two nations.

It is not clear if the new cooperation would strengthen or weaken the GCC institution, which was formed in 1981 of all Gulf countries but has been affected by the decision of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to boycott Qatar.

--IANS

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