Pakistan participates in multinational Bright Star drills in Egypt

RAWALPINDI: Troops from Pakistan participated in the multinational exercise Bright Star 2021 held at Egypt’s Mohamed Naguib Military Base.

20 countries, including Egypt, the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Cyprus, Iraq, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Kenya, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Greece, Kuwait, the UAE, Tunisia, Nigeria, Tanzania and France, took part in the drills.

A Pakistan contingent comprising army, navy and PAF troops participated in the exercise for the first time since 2009, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

A ceremony marking the conclusion of the exercise was held at Mohamed Naguib Military Base.

The Pak Army’s Engineer-in-Chief Lieutenant General Moazzam Ejaz attended the ceremony. The two-weeks long exercise focused on the capability to counter regional hybrid threats, strengthen regional stability by fostering combined force interoperability, joint force integration and enhance maritime security operations.

Egyptian Minister of Defence and commander-in-Chief General Mohamed Zaki and military officials from the 20 countries, including the US CENTCOM, witnessed the final phase of the joint training that included live fire of different weapons including aircraft, helicopters and tanks.

The Bright Star drills are being held regularly since 1980. Lieutenant General Moazzam Ejaz, Engineer-in-Chief, also met Egyptian Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid and Air Commander Mohamed Abbas Helmy.