Egypt's defense chief has pledged that the army will keep pace with changing technology and combat doctrine in the West.
Egyptian Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi was quoted by Middle East News Link (MENL) as saying that the military remains abreast of changes in technology, combat doctrine and weapons development.
Tantawi pledged to keep Egypt's armed forces on the cutting edge of strategic developments.
Tantawi issued the pledge during a graduation ceremony of military cadets from 10 countries over the weekend.
The cadets came from Arab countries as well as Pakistan. The Arab countries included Algeria, Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The defense minister did not elaborate. But he said Egypt's efforts include upgrades of weapons, development of new systems and changes in military doctrine, according to the report.
Over the last 20 years, Egypt has slowly changed from a Soviet defensive doctrine to a US offensive doctrine. The effort has been termed as partially successful, said MENL.
Earlier this month, Tantawi said that Egypt’s military was stronger than it had been on the eve of the 1973 war with Israel.
He said that Egypt's military was in "much better condition" than in 1973 and was prepared to defend the country against any attack.
Tantawi said a strong military was a foremost goal of Egypt.
Egypt was reportedly criticized by the US over increasing military cooperation with Russia and North Korea – Albawab.com
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