Egypt’s army spokesperson Tamer El Refa’ai said that Egyptian a group of airborne forces left the country to partake in a joint military exercise that started in Russia on Tuesday, with the participation of military forces from Russia and Belarus, Egypt Daily News reported.

According to a statement, the above mentioned military exercise will continue for 10 days, the exercise is entitled ‘Protectors of Friendship 4’

 “Egypt hopes the training will help to enhance the skills of its forces, unify combat concepts and teamwork,” the statement added.

 Since the arrival of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to power in 2014, bilateral relations between the Egypt and Russia witnessed unprecedented improvement as both countries adopt similar strategies and opinions in different files such as the Syrian crisis.

 Also, the military cooperation between the two countries reached its peak as military deals are on the rise, particularly concerning the air forces, making Russia one of the important sources of arms to Egypt.

 More than 1,000 military personnel are participating in “Protectors of Friendship Exercise-19”, including 650 Russian paratroopers, 150+ Egyptian paratroopers and up to 250 military personnel from Belarus In addition to more than 100 units of military equipment.