The defence ministers of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece witnessed the main part of the joint aeronautical exercise Medusa 8 in the Mediterranean on Thursday.

Egypt’s Mohamed Zaki, Greece’s Evangelos Apostolakis and Savvas Angelides of Cyprus observed parts of the drill, which is taking place off Egypt’s coast.

The trainings lasted for several days, and aimed to boost military cooperation between the three countries.

The main units taking part in the exercise include the Egyptian navy helicopter carrier ENS Anwar El Sadat, Type 209 submarines and a number of F-16 jets.

Medusa is one of the most important drills in the Mediterranean, and reflects the level of cooperation between Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus.

The main stage of the Medusa 8 included live fire training by naval units and landing operations by amphibious and airborne forces.

The early stages of the drills included activities on planning and managing joint combat and air and maritime reconnaissance activities.

Zaki asserted the depth of the military ties binding the three countries.

He also lauded the level of coordination and cooperation among the three countries in the different domains, asserting that Egypt is looking forward to more cooperation in the future to boost efforts exerted to achieve development and stability and combat terror.