Egypt will hold its joint, multinational military exercise Bright Star between 2 and 17 September with the participation of 21 countries, the Egyptian military spokesman announced on Wednesday.

Bright Star 2021, originally scheduled for September last year, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bright Star exercises are held in Egypt on a regular basis. The first was held in 1980, a year after the signing of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

The last time the Bright Star exercise was held was in 2018.

Troops from Egypt, the United States, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Britain, Greece and Italy participated in the 2018 exercise, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Defence. This is in addition to 16 other countries who participated as observers.

The 2018 exercise saw the participation of navy personnel, air forces and special forces, according to the ministry.

In July 2020, the US Central Command said it looks forward to “continuing this decades-long training relationship and resume the opportunity to train alongside our valued Egyptian partners and other nations.”

In April this year, Egypt and the US signed the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Memorandum of Understanding (ACSMoU). According to the US Embassy’s website, the MoU “will facilitate logistics and US forces’ participation during Bright Star 2021.”