The National Guard this week co-organised themilitary training exercise Military Lion with the armed forces of Jordan and the central administration of the United States, the defence ministry announced on Sunday.

The aim of the exercise, which took place in Jordan, was the realistic training of military in an environment with multiple threats to boost international operations.

According to the ministry, taking part in the exercise were members of the armed forces from Greece, Austria, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, the UAE, Japan, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, Kenya, South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Bahrain, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Sweden.

At the same time, a smaller exercise was held in Cyprus for the Special Forces and their Jordanian equivalents.

In this scenario, soldiers were under attack from a variety of different types of weapon while the use of technology in the forces was put into practice.

After watching the exercise, chief of the National Guard Lieutenant General Dimokritos Zervakis underlined the importance of the co-operation between the defence forces of the two countries for the wider East Mediterranean region.

These specific exercises, he said, “significantly contribute to the increase in the operational capabilities of the participating”.

They also add to the aim of the ministry of defence to help stabilise the region.