TAIF — Prince Khalid bin Salman, deputy minister of defense patronized on Wednesday the graduation ceremony of the 19th batch of cadets from King Abdullah Air Defense College and the 22nd batch of the qualification course for university officers at the college headquarters in Taif.

Prince Khalid attended on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, deputy premier and minister of defense.

Upon his arrival at the college headquarters, the deputy defense minister was received by the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Fayyad Al-Ruwaili; the Commander of the Air Defense Forces, Lieutenant-General Mazyad Al-Amro and the Commander of Taif region, Major General Mohammed Al-Qahtani.

Immediately after his arrival the royal anthem was played and verses from the Holy Qur’an were recited.

Then, the Commander of King Abdullah Air Defense College, Major General Mohammed Al-Balawi, delivered a speech in which he valued the patronage of Prince Khalid for the graduation ceremony as well as his participation in the cadets' rejoice and happiness at graduating and joining the fields of glory and honor in the Air Defense Forces.

He added that the college annually receives a number of students from fraternally and friendly countries, as this course included students from Bahrain, Mauritania, Djibouti, Yemen and Sudan.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, memorial photos were taken, then the royal anthem was played. — SG