Egyptian Armed Forces exercise with Russians and Americans

CAIRO - 10 September 2017: Egyptian Armed Forces' plan for the annual training includes two major trainings at nearly concurrent timings, with representatives of two major armies; the American and Russian armies.

The Egypt-U.S. military maneuvers known as the

“Bright Star 2017”

started on Sunday, and are set to take place until September 20 at the combat training complex at the Mohamed Najib Military Base in the northern military zone.

According to statements made by the U.S. administration, 200 U.S military personnel are to take part in the joint-exercise, and this number is expected to rise. The operations will also involve security drills, anti-terrorist drills, and counter- extremist tactics, and the Mohamed Naguib Military Base was specifically chosen for the long-awaited event because of its huge capacity.

At the same time, the Egyptian paratroopers have arrived in Russia to participate in the first joint exercises, "Defenders of Friendship 2017", hosted by the Russian Federation during the period from September 9 to 22. The "Defenders of Friendship" training was carried out for the first time in Egypt in 2016.

These military trainings come in the light of the joint training plan of the Egyptian Armed Forces, which aims to exchange training experiences and establish military cooperation relations with friendly countries.

Last April, the Egyptian-American joint naval exercise, “Eagle Salute Maneuvers 2017", took place in the territorial waters of the Red Sea for several days. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Pakistan and Kuwait participated in the training, as well as Italy as an observer.

In a visit to Egypt in April 2017, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis discussed with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ways to strengthen the ongoing military cooperation between the two countries, following a prior meeting at the Pentagon during Sisi's state visit to Washington earlier in April.