Egypt, US start joint military exercise

Cairo, Sep 11 (IANS)    The Egyptian military spokesman said, the Egyptian-US joint military exercise, known as "The Bright Star," kicked off on Sunday at a military base in Egypt.

The 10-day joint maneuver activities will continue until September 20, including joint land, air and naval operations, Xinhua quoted Egyptian Military Spokesman Tamer al-Refaay as saying.

On the sidelines of the training, a research symposium will be held to exchange visions on strategic topics on the international arena and Egypt's comprehensive strategy of fighting terrorism, Refaay added.

Launched in 1981, the joint biennial training has been suspended since 2009, due to the ouster of former presidents Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi in addition to the dissatisfaction of former US President Barack Obama's administration with the Egyptian new leadership.

Obama's successor, US President Donald Trump promised to resume the exercise. Both Trump and Sisi have repeatedly exchanged remarks of praise and promised further cooperation and partnership.

"The Bright Star exercises reflect the depth of strategic cooperation between the Egyptian and the US armed forces," said the Egyptian military spokesman.

Resumption of the Bright Star comes a few weeks after Washington announced to withhold some $300 million of aid to Egypt over human rights concerns.