Egyptian-French naval exercise wraps up

CAIRO - 7 March 2019: The Egyptian and French navies on Thursday wrapped up their joint naval exercise that lasted for days in the Egyptian territorial waters in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Participants in the war game were Egyptian naval units from the Northern and Southern fleets, "Anwar El Sadat" and "Gamal Abdel Nassar" Mistral-class helicopter carriers, in addition to a number of frigates, missile boats and French amphibious assault helicopter carrier "Tonnerre" along with special forces from the Egyptian and French navies, mechanized infantry elements from the Southern Military Zone and cadets from the Egyptian Naval Academy.

The main stage of the drills was attended by Commander of the Egyptian Naval Forces Vice Admiral Ahmed Khalid, as well as the commander of the French naval forces in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

Speaking on the occasion, the commander of the Egyptian naval forces extolled the professional combat skills displayed by the troops participating in the exercises.

The Vice Admiral also stressed the necessity of exchanging expertise and training between elements of the countries' naval forces.

The naval exercise is part of the General Command of the Egyptian Armed Forces’ plan to strengthen military cooperation with friendly countries.