Egypt hosted a multinational coalition to conduct an air and naval exercise on the Mediterranean Sea in late 2020.
The weeklong joint exercise, named Medusa 10, occupied waters off the coast of Alexandria and drew participants from Cyprus, France, Greece and the United Arab Emirates.
Aimed at enhancing regional and international cooperation to confront security challenges in the Mediterranean region, the maritime drills were observed by representatives from each country’s ministry of defense. Prominent among them was Egyptian Lt. Gen. Mohamed Zaki, the country’s minister of defense and military production.
The exercise began with a military briefing aboard the Egyptian helicopter carrier Anwar El Sadat. Participants engaged in drills that included sailing in formation; airstrikes against hostile maritime targets; naval gunnery; repelling asymmetric attacks; amphibious landings; and visit, board, search and seizure of suspicious vessels.
The event — which has taken place regularly since 2017 — concluded with a parade by naval and air units from the participating countries.
Upon conclusion of Medusa 10, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi visited France on December 7, 2020, for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. The two-day visit culminated in a joint news conference at which Macron praised Egypt as “an important partner in the battle against terrorism” and promised greater defense cooperation with Cairo.
Sources: Al Ahram newspaper, egyptindependent.com