Egyptian soldiers participate in 7th Eager Lion Military Drill

APD NEWS

text

More than 7,000 soldiers from 22 countries, including Egypt, flew to Jordan this week for the 7th Eager Lion international drill. Egypt is always keen to participate in joint military training programs across the world. And this year's participation is seen by observers, as part of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's plan to re-arm and strengthen one of Africa's strongest armies.

Jordan's seventh Exercise Eager focuses on training armies to work together during international joint operations. To Egypt it's an important drill that could help in efforts to fight terrorism in the region. Every year, Egypt joins 25 to 30 international military drills to expose its soldiers to the newest combat tactics.

Since President el-Sisi came to office, his prime mission has been to utilize his experience as a defense minister to develop the Egyptian armed forces. He has signed multi-billion-dollar deals, the biggest of which were with France and Russia. The agreements signalled the end of Egypt's dependency on the US for arming its military.

Global military rankings are not usually very precise -- they depend mainly on the number of arms a country owns, rather than efficiency. Egypt, however, has a long history of being among the world's strongest armies. And after el-Sisi signed deals to buy two German 209 submarines, as well as French helicopter carriers and frigates, the Egyptian navy's rank has become stronger than the overall evaluation of the country.

(CGTN)