By Sarah Saad
Chief-of-Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ahmed Khalifa attended the main phase of the joint military exercise ” MEDUSA-13″, which took place over several days in Greece, with the participation of Egyptian air, naval and special forces.
Forces from Greece, Cyprus, France, and Saudi Arabia took part in the drill that was attended by chiefs of staff and commanders of the armed forces of the participating countries, alongside the Egyptian ambassador to Greece.
The main phase proceeded with a presentation aboard the Mistral helicopter carrier “Anwar El-Sadat,” outlining the activities and events carried out in the initial stages of the exercise.
On the sidelines of the drill, the chief-of-staff visited tombs of the unknow soldier memorial and laid a wreath, before heading to the headquarters of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, where he was welcomed by an official reception and the national anthems of both countries were played.
Meanwhile, Khalifa held a meeting with Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (HNDGS) General Dimitrios Houpis to discuss ways of boosting military relations between Egypt and Greece.
The chief of staff also met with Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias.
They discussed exchanged views regarding a number of issues of mutual interest and developments in the regional and international arenas.
MEDUSA-13 military exercise feature several training activities, including unconventional combat drills and live fire exercises, and joint planning for managing air and naval combat operations against various threats.
This reflects the high level of training attained by the participating forces across various specializations, according to the Egyptian army.
Italy, Bahrain, Rwanda, Bulgaria and Morocco are taking part in the exercise as observers.
On the fringe of MEDUSA-13, the special forces from the participating countries carried out the joint exercises Mena 3 and Hercules 3 to exchange expertise and unify operational concepts.
Egypt’s participation in the “Medusa-13” exercise falls within the framework of the Egyptian Armed Forces’ keenness to advance military cooperation with their counterparts in sisterly and friendly countries.
