Egyptian, Saudi Air Forces to Hold Joint ExercisesEgyptian and Saudi air forces will hold joint military exercises code-named "Faisal-2" in the Gulf kingdom on Sunday, Egypt's Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.The Egyptian air force will send an unspecified number of fighters to take part in the maneuver, held for the second consecutive year "with the aim of exchanging expertise and promoting the two countries' air skills," MENA said. Khaled Ben Sultan Ben Abdel Aziz, Saudi assistant minister of defense and aviation, termed as "important" the Saudi-Egyptian drills, which will last for "several days," the news agency added. "The exercises will help Saudi Arabia promote its air skills and capabilities," Aziz said, quoted by MENA. Last June, the two countries launched the first joint air maneuver called "Faisal-1" in Egypt, during which fighter jets, multi-task jets and early-warning planes carried out exercises for offensive operations and troops transportation. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have then decided to hold such exercises alternately early summer each year. The two countries have strong and long-standing relations, enabling them to cooperate at bilateral and regional levels. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |