Egypt, Jordan forces train together at Red Sea

Egyptian and Jordanian armed forces this week kicked off the Aqaba-5 drill at the combat training fields in Egypt’s southern military zone and the Red Sea, military sources said Wednesday (October 23rd).

The military training exercise involves ground, naval and special operations forces from both countries, and is slated to continue through next week.

During the opening ceremony, the participating forces stood at attention as a military band played both national anthems, Egypt’s military spokesman Col Tamer al-Refai said.

"The training plans include holding several conferences and theoretical and practical lectures to consolidate operational concepts," he said in a statement.

They also include the implementation of many ground and naval activities which will help "transfer and share training experiences between the two sides and help implement various missions", the statement added.

"This enhances the participating elements' ability to plan, co-ordinate and jointly work to confront any challenges or risks that may target the region's security and stability," it continued.

Annual exercises

Aqaba-5 is the continuation of a series of annual joint exercises which the Egyptian and Jordanian forces host in turn.

These exercises support military and security co-operation between the two nations, and help the participating forces gain combat skills and attain a high level of joint co-operation, al-Refai said.

The Aqaba-5 exercises are primarily aimed at sharing experiences and refining the two armies' counter-terrorism tactics in multiple environments, al-Jeel Centre for Studies director Ibrahim al-Shahabi told Al-Mashareq.

"These drills, which will significantly raise the levels of readiness in the two countries to confront terrorism, are aimed at beating advances in terrorist operations," he said.

"Such exercises build the culture of security and military confrontations to face terrorist groups, and also build awareness about the terrorists' tactics," he said.