Pakistan participates in multinational drill 'Bright Star' in Egypt

Pakistan's armed forces, among 20 other countries, participated in the multinational exercise Bright Star 2021 at Mohamed Naguib Military Base, Egypt, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday.

According to the ISPR, the 20 countries that participated in the drill included Egypt, United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Cyprus, Iraq, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Kenya, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Greece, Kuwait, UAE, Tunisia, Nigeria, Tanzania and France.

"Pakistan contingent comprising Army, Navy and Pak Air Force troops participated for the first time since 2009," the military's media wing added.

The ISPR stated that the closing ceremony of the exercise was held at Mohamed Naguib Military Base. Engineer-in-Chief Lieutenant General Moazzam Ejaz attended the closing ceremony of the exercise.

"The two weeks long exercise was 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," it added.

The communique further stated that the Egyptian Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief General Mohamed Zaki and military officials from 20 countries, including USCENTCOM, witnessed the final phase of the joint training that included live fire of different weapons including aircrafts, helicopters and tanks.

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"Lieutenant General Moazzam Ejaz, Engineer-in-Chief, also met Egyptian Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid and Air Commander Mohamed Abbas Helmy," the ISPR stated.

The Bright Star drill is being held regularly since 1980.

On September 12, the opening ceremony of trilateral exercise "Brotherhood" being hosted by Azerbaijan was held in Baku, the ISPR said.

According to a statement issued by the ISPR, the exercise was conducted in the counter-terrorism domain from September 11 to 22, 2021.

"Special forces from Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey are participating in the subject exercise," it added.

A day before the exercise stated, Azerbaijan's defence ministery stated that this was the first such drill among the three brotherly countries. The goal of the exercise was to improve cooperation among the special forces and to share knowledge and experience, the ministry added.