A group of Egyptian warships has left the port of Novorossiysk after completing the Friendship Bridge-2020 joint drills with the Russian Navy, the Black Sea Fleet’s press office reported on Tuesday.

“The Egyptian naval group comprises the frigate Alexandria, the corvette El Fateh and the missile craft M. Fahmy. After the farewell ceremony with the participation of the command of the Novorossiysk naval base, the Egyptian ships set off for the Black Sea’s Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits,” the press office said in a statement.

The Russian-Egyptian Friendship Bridge-2020 drills that were held in the Black Sea for the first time ran on November 17-24. The basic maneuvers took place during the offshore phase. The Russian and Egyptian naval sailors held a set of drills, in particular, searching for and rescuing a drowning person, following mine sweeps, repelling an attack by a notional enemy’s small-size craft, replenishing supplies at sea by the abeam method and inspecting suspicious vessels.

“The drills aimed to strengthen and develop military cooperation between the Russian and Egyptian Navies in the interests of security and stability at sea and to exchange experience between the personnel in repelling various threats in the areas of intensive shipping,” the Fleet’s press office added.

The Russian and Egyptian Navies have been holding Friendship Bridge drills since 2015.