MANAMA, Bahrain –
U.S. 5th Fleet hosted Qatar’s top naval leader May 2 at the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, marking strengthening ties between U.S. and Qatari maritime forces.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Central Forces Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), welcomed Commander of the Qatari Emiri Navy Maj. Gen. Abdullah Hassan Al-Sulaiti and other senior Qatari officers for discussions on regional maritime security cooperation.
“We were deeply grateful for this opportunity to host our Qatari partners at U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters here in Bahrain,” said Cooper. “Strengthening and expanding maritime collaboration with the Qatari Emiri Navy is essential for regional security and stability.”
Qatar is one of 38 nations that make up CMF, the world’s largest multinational naval partnership. The organization is co-located at U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters.
During the visit, the senior Qatari military officials met with U.S. 5th Fleet staff and attended a briefing on new unmanned systems the U.S. Navy has recently integrated into regional operations.
The meeting in Bahrain came on the heels of Cooper’s daylong trip to Qatar where he met with Qatar Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. (Pilot) Salem bin Hamad bin Aqeel al-Nabit near Doha.
The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al Mandeb.
