Egypt & U.S. Sign MoU on Military Logistics Cross Servicing

On Tuesday, Egypt and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the reciprocal provision of military logistic support, supplies, and services.

The MoU was signed by the Egyptian Assistant Minister of Defense for International Affairs Major General Mohamed Salah and the U.S. Central Command Director of Logistics and Engineering Major General Jeffrey Drushal at a ceremony at the Ministry of Defense.

The U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan R. Cohen and Senior U.S. Defense Official/Defense Attaché Major General Mark W. Gillette and senior Ministry of Defense officials have attended the signing ceremony.

The MoU aims to establish a framework for Egyptian and U.S. military forces to exchange logistic support, supplies, and services.

Meanwhile, it does not obligate either side to provide support, it does create a standing mechanism to ensure that U.S. and Egyptian military forces can effectively offer reimbursable support to each other when required.

Future joint exercises, exchanges, and training events can use the MOU to simplify cross-servicing and logistical requirements rather than signing short-term or activity-specific agreements.

This year, the MOU will facilitate logistics and U.S. force participation during Bright Star 2021, a multilateral exercise that will continue the proud tradition of the United States, Egypt, and partner nations working together to promote readiness to respond to regional threats while building a mutual framework of countering terrorism and maintaining regional peace and security.

In conjunction with the signing, the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt noted that the U.S. military relationship with Egypt has been a foundation of the U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership for more than forty years. “U.S. equipment supports the Egyptian Air Force, Land Forces, Navy, and Border Guard in countering threats to Egypt’s security. Defense cooperation with Egypt is a cornerstone of our strategic partnership, spanning counterterrorism, border security, and joint training and planning to address complex geopolitical challenges.”

The United States has Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreements (ACSA’s) with key partner states around the world. These mutually beneficial agreements enhance the ability to support exercises, peace-keeping operations, humanitarian support missions, and disaster relief efforts throughout the world. ACSA agreements/MOUs facilitate logistic interoperability, military cooperation, unit readiness and increases flexibility for operational commanders.