Egypt and the UK started the joint amphibious exercise T-1 on Thursday in the Mediterranean Sea, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced.

Running through 11 November, T-1 is part of the plan of the General Commandership of the Armed Forces to exchange expertise with navies of other friendly countries, said the Egyptian army.

The Egyptian Navy is participating in the drills with the Mistral helicopter carrier “Anwar El-Sadat” and its combat crew as well as units from the Special Naval Forces and several multi-role combat aircraft.

From the British side, the "HMS ALBION" amphibious warship and its accompanying combat crew, as well as elements of the British Naval Special Forces, will participate in the training.

The T-1 training is being held for the first time between Egypt and the UK.

According to the Egyptian army, the first phase of the training began with the arrival of the UK elements at the Alexandria Naval Base where a coordination conference was held.

The exercise is meant to exchange expertise in planning and organising joint amphibious operations and counter-marine threat operations, as well as the study of the British Naval Special Forces’ techniques in amphibious operations, the Egyptian army added.

Workshops to exchange expertise in maritime security, interception operations and securing vital targets at sea are also being held, the statement continued.

British Secretary of State for the Armed Forces James Heappy and an accompanying delegation met with Egypt’s Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid on Tuesday.