The military exercise will continue until Oct. 26.
Egypt and Russia on Monday launched a joint military exercise to combat terrorism, according to the Egyptian military.
The “Defenders of Friendship-3” drill includes members of parachute units from both countries, military spokesman Col. Tamer Rifai said in a statement.
The military exercise, which will continue until Oct. 26, is being held at the Mohamed Najib military base in northwestern Egypt.
India and China launched a programme on Monday to train Afghan diplomats and China's ambassador said it would likely be followed by joint programmes in other fields to help war-torn Afghanistan.Such cooperation is the first by the two Asian giants which have long been locked in a tussle for influence in a region stretching from Nepal to Sri Lanka and the island chain of the Maldives.Within Afghanistan, India and the China have been on opposite sides with China relying on its old ally Pakistan as it seeks to stabilise Afghanistan by various means, including brokering talks to end the Taliban insurgency.India, on the other hand, has invested billions of dollars in economic projects and training of military officers to strengthen the Afghan government in its fight against the Taliban.Leader of Russia-backed Crimea to visit SyriaFor its part, Pakistan sees the expansive diplomacy in Afghanistan by its old rival, India, as a way to encircle it.China's ambassador to India said the joint training of 10 Afghan diplomats at the Indian Foreign Service Institute was the first step in China-India-Afghanistan cooperation that was agreed at a summit between President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year."This is just the beginning. China and India have respective advantages. For example, India has remarkable edge in agriculture and medical services, and China in hybrid rice and poverty reduction," the ambassador, Luo Zhaohui, said in a speech."I am sure that in the future days China-India cooperation in Afghanistan will span from training programme to more concrete projects."Taliban attacks in Afghanistan kill at least 22 security forcesModi and Xi agreed to handle long-standing political differences peacefully at their summit in China, just months after a dispute over a stretch of their Himalayan border near the tiny state of Bhutan rekindled fears of war.Luo said India-China cooperation in Afghanistan should be extended to countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Myanmar and even Iran.In many of these countries, China is helping to build infrastructure as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, which India sees as a bid by China to expand its influence.China's call for partnership comes just a week after its embassy in New Delhi said India and China must deepen their cooperation to fight trade protectionism, as it criticised the United States for what it termed provoking disputes. US envoy talks with Taliban, then back in Kabul
India, China launch joint training for Afghanistan, plan more projects
The drill aims to “exchange training experiences of special units..., and combat training for special and counter-terrorism forces according to the latest training systems," the statement said.
The exercise comes as Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi began a three-day visit to Russia on Monday for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
A similar military training was held between Russian and Egyptian forces in the southwestern city of Novorossiysk last year.
The leader of Crimea, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, is to visit Syria on Monday, the pro-government newspaper al-Watan said.Russia-backed Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov will visit Damascus for two days.Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's seven-year long conflict. The leaders of two other Russia-backed breakaway regions, Georgia's South Ossetia and Abkhazia, also visited Damascus this year.Crimea has been under Western sanctions since it was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014.International Space Station crew has enough supplies for at least six months: Russian officialRussia: Meeting on Afghanistan may take place late Oct.
Leader of Russia-backed Crimea to visit Syria