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JFC Naples leads Expert Staff Meeting with Egyptian Armed Forces

Article courtesy of JFC Naples Military Partnership Branch

NAPLES, Italy — An Expert Staff Meeting with Egypt took place in Naples on Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Reinhard Kloss, Assistant Chief of Staff J9, hosted an Egyptian delegation led by Col. Bassem Abdelnabi, the Assistant Defense Attache from the Egyptian Embassy in Rome.  Military Partnership representatives from Joint Force Command Naples provided multiple presentations on NATO Partnership activities available to Egypt over the next two years. 
 
The aim of the Expert Staff Meeting was to review NATO partnership activities conducted with Egypt in 2016, discuss current activities and begin planning for next year in accordance with the Egyptian Armed Forces goals. All military cooperation events discussed during the meeting evolve from an Individual Partnership Cooperation Program that signed by NATO and Egypt in 2015.  During office calls with the Egyptian delegation, JFC Naples Deputy Chief of Staff Operations and Deputy Chief of Staff Plans conveyed NATO’s concern with security in the Mediterranean region and the critical role Partnerships serve in projecting stability.  Abdelnabi expressed his gratitude to NATO for hosting the important meeting and looked forward to continued strong coordination with JFC Naples.

Both parties contributed to insightful discussions on partnership priorities and challenges.  The Egyptian delegation came away with a better understanding of the opportunities and constraints for participating in military exercises.  The NATO team gained insight into Egypt’s security concerns and priorities.  Kloss concluded the meeting by commending the Egyptians for the high level of partnership activity and emphasized the importance of continued dialogue to maintain a shared understanding of priorities. 
 
Egypt is an active NATO partner country and has been a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) framework since 1994. It currently participates in a number of NATO initiatives including the NATO Defense College, Senior Executive NATO courses, Regional Exercises and regular Key Leader Engagements.

Brig. Gen. Reinhard Kloss and the Egyptian Armed Forces delegation. Photo by DEU Air Force Master Sgt. Dennis Tappe