HAFR AL-BATEN, 2 January ——  Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, yesterday highlighted the resolutions taken by the GCC leaders at their annual summit in Manama, especially the signing of a joint defense agreement.

"We have heard the final communiqué of the GCC summit. It upholds the glory of the whole Arab Ummah, especially the Gulf countries," Prince Sultan said while addressing Eid festivities of the Peninsula Shield, a joint force of GCC countries stationed in Hafr Al-Baten.

"The signing of the joint defense pact is one of the most important achievements of the summit," the prince said. "and has been the desire of the entire armed forces in the GCC states and of the Gulf people." He also commended the cooperation among the Gulf Cooperation Council states.

The defense agreement, signed on the sidelines of the Manama summit, aims at strengthening defense cooperation among the member states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It stipulates raising the strength of the Peninsula Shield by four or five times from 5,000 to at least 25,000 men, so that it can serve as a rapid deployment force to repel potential enemy attack, a GCC official said.

The agreement also stipulates that an attack on one member will be considered an attack on all GCC states. Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad ibn Mubarak Al-Khalifa on Sunday described the defense pact as the most important agreement signed by the GCC.

Earlier yesterday, Prince Sultan opened a mosque at the housing complex of military officers at King Khaled Military City in Hafr Al-Baten. Covering an area of 900 square meters, the mosque can accommodate 650 worshippers at a time. It was constructed at a cost of SR650,000.

Prince Sultan was received on arrival at the mosque by Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Nafie, commander of the Northern Province, Brig. Muhammad Al-Assaf, administrative director of the military city. Prince Sultan performed Dhuhr prayers at the mosque, which is named after him.

The ceremony was also attended by Eastern Province Governor Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, a number of princes and high-ranking officials.

Prince Sultan, who is on an inspection tour of the armed forces personnel and military installations in the region, later attended a luncheon hosted by the Northern Province Command.

Earlier, Prince Sultan attended a military parade held as part of Eid festivities. He conveyed the Eid greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.