After training more than 80 EAF personnel across 2015/16 in Counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) and close protection, hosted in the UK, Michael Fallon has pledged to continue working alongside the Egyptian military to enable further training.

The UK and Egypt have already made great steps through initial train-the-trainer focused work, and are committed to enabling the EAF to replicate the training in Egypt.

The Defence Secretary reaffirmed this commitment to training Egyptian forces during a visit to Cairo this week, which is expected to help train hundreds of personnel.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

Our vital training has helped Egyptian Armed Forces to defuse dangerous devices as they tackle the threat from our common enemy - terrorism.

We are now going to step up co-operation with our Egyptian allies to help them increase training capacity in their Armed Forces.

During his visit to Egypt, Mr Fallon met Egyptian counterpart, Defence Minister Sebkhi Sobhi, EAF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mahmoud Hegazy, and Minister of Military Production Major General Mohamed El Assar.

Discussions included the UK’s Defence relationship with Egypt, shared threats and mutual interests, as well as continued work on Counter Terrorism.

The UK also shares an important Defence trade relationship with Egypt, which benefits both nations’ economies.

Mr Fallon added:

Egypt is a key partner, and we will continue to work together to achieve security and stability in this region.

The UK also makes a longstanding contribution to the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), a non-UN multinational peacekeeping organisation based in Egypt. Earlier this year around 100 troops from the corps of Royal Engineers deployed to provide short-term engineering support to the MFO.