CAIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A visiting U.S. commander on Sunday highlighted joint military exercises between Egypt and the United States as a way to strengthen ties, according to a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
The remarks were made by U.S. Chief of the Central Command Joseph Votel, who had been on a visit for days to Egypt to observe the joint training exercises between U.S. forces and Egyptian armed forces under the umbrella of the Bright Star 2018 exercises at Mohamed Naguib military base.
"Egypt is one of our most vital partners in the region," Votel said.
The U.S. official had met with senior Egyptian leaders to explore ways to enhance the strategic security relations between Egypt and the United States, which he described as a historic partnership that plays a leading role in counter-terrorism and regional security.
Around 800 U.S. military service members participated in the Bright Star exercises for the second consecutive year since the reactivation of the exercises, according to the embassy's statement.
The drill this year focuses on regional security and cooperation to promote interoperability in irregular warfare scenarios.
"The Bright Star 2018 exercises promote our vision of a more stable and prosperous region with increasingly effective governance, improved security, and trans-regional cooperation," the statement read.
Scheduled to be held from Sept. 8 to 20, the military maneuvers involve land, naval and air forces from Egypt, the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, in addition to 16 other countries as observers.
The massive drills were launched in 1981 and held biennially until 2009, after which they were suspended owing to the ouster of former Egyptian Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi in 2011 and 2013 respectively, and the dissatisfaction of former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration with the Egyptian new leadership.
The drills were resumed in 2017 after eight years of suspension, under the administration of Obama's successor Donald Trump who repeatedly exchanged remarks of praise and support with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
The embassy said the United States remains committed to supporting the Egyptian government and people through diplomatic, economic, social and security cooperation.
Egypt receives annually 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in military and economic aid from the United States since it signed the 1979 U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel.
Part of the aid, about 300 million dollars, was suspended last year by Washington over human rights concerns in Egypt, but 195 million dollars were released by the Trump administration in late July.
