Arab Reserve Force to be formed to fight terrorism

CAIRO – 21 May 2017: More than 50 Arab states announced the establishment of a reserve force with a total of 34,000 military personnel to support the Arab and International operations against the terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, said the states’ leaders, who participated in the Arab-Islamic-American Summit on Sunday.

In a final communiqué, they welcomed the establishment of an international center in Riyadh to fight extremist ideology, named the Aa'tidal Center.

“The participating states agreed on uprooting terroristic thoughts and draining its financial resources,” the statement read. They highlighted the necessity of enhancing the joint efforts exerted to protect the states’ territorial water and to fight piracy.
Around 55 leaders and representatives from across the Islamic world arrived in Saudi Arabia Saturday, to attend the Riyadh summit of 2017, in the presence of the American President.

A two-day international summit is ongoing in Riyadh under the slogan “Together We Prevail.” It aims to “renew mutual commitment to global security and further strengthen already deep business, cultural and political ties,” according to the Riyadh summit’s official website.

Three summits are taking place on Saturday and Sunday, including the US-GCC summit and the Arab-Islamic-American summit.