Pakistan and Egypt hold joint military exercise
'Sky Guardians 1' aimed at strengthening their defence and security relationship
Islamabad: Pakistani and Egyptian forces are taking part in the ‘Sky Guardians 1’ exercise to bolster military cooperation between the two countries.
The two-week long joint air defence exercise, which began on May 26 in Cairo, is focused on robust and realistic training to confront existing and emerging threats in the air domain, according to the Pakistan military.
“The participating troops will exchange operational drills and procedures to meet the future battlefield environment” said Pakistan military’s public relations wing, ISPR.
The drills are focused on building operational readiness and interoperability between the two partners and includes training on “greater integration, synergy, information gathering, decision-making of air defence tentacles to generate a comprehensive response” against multiple hostile air threats in battle.
Pakistan Army’s Lieutenant General Muhammad Chirag Haider, Director General Joint Staff Headquarters and Egyptian Air Defence Forces Commander Major General Mohamed Hagezy Abdel Mawgoud witnessed the opening ceremony along with other senior military officials from both countries.
Security relationship
The exercise is aimed at strengthening defence and security relationship of Pakistan and Egypt.
Recently, Pakistani and Egyptian military officials discussed collaboration in the field of defence production and agreed to boost joint cooperation in counter-terrorism.
In March this year, the Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Ahmed Morsi visited Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), the largest state-owned defence industrial complex, and discussed the potential for military collaboration in a meeting with POF chairman Lt Gen Ali Amir Awan. Pakistan is keen to enhance partnership with Egyptian companies particularly in the defence production field and to exchange expertise in the technological, manufacturing, research and technical fields, officials said.
Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan held a phone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi during which both leaders exchanged views on expanding cooperation between the two countries in diverse areas. Khan also appreciated the significant role played by Egypt and its leadership for reaching the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities in Palestine.