Egypt, Pakistan's naval forces conduct drills in Mediterranean Sea

Cairo : Egyptian and Pakistani naval forces conducted drills in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday.

"The drills meant to exchange expertise in order to promote maritime security and stability in the region," Egyptian armed forces said in a statement cited by Xinhua news agency.

The giant Pakistani military ship "SAIF PNS" along with the Egyptian naval ships conducted exercises including inspection of ships and exchange of helicopter takeoff and landing, it added.

Egypt also started joint military exercise with the US known as "the Bright Star" last week at a military base in its Alexandria province.

The military manoeuvres that started from September 8 and will go on till September 20, include land, naval and air forces from Egypt, the US, Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, in addition to other 16 states that participate as observers.