Pakistan's armed forces, among 20 other countries, participated in the multinational exercise Bright Star 2021 at the Mohamed Naguib Military Base, Egypt, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday.

The military's media wing stated that the 20 countries that participated in the drill included Egypt, United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Cyprus, Iraq, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Kenya, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Greece, Kuwait, UAE, Tunisia, Nigeria, Tanzania and France.

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It added that the closing ceremony of the exercise was held at Mohamed Naguib Military Base. Lieutenant General Moazzam Ejaz, Engineer-in-Chief, attended the closing ceremony of the exercise.

The two weeks long exercise was focused on the capability to counter regional hybrid threats, strengthen regional stability by fostering combined force interoperability, joint force integration and enhance maritime security operations, the ISPR said.

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Egyptian Minister of Defence and commander-in-Chief, General Mohamed Zaki and military officials from 20 countries including USCENTCOM witnessed final phase of joint training that included live fire of different weapons including aircrafts, helicopters and tanks, the statement further said.

The Bright Star multinational military drill was launched in 1980 as part of the US-brokered peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. It has been hosted by Egypt in cooperation with the US every two years.

The drill, originally scheduled for September 2020, was suspended due to the raging Covid-19 pandemic.