Egypt and the US have signed an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Memorandum of Understanding (ACSMOU) to facilitate reciprocal provision of military logistic support, supplies, and services.
The ACSMOU was signed by Egypt’s Assistant Minister of Defence for International Affairs Major General Mohamed Salah and US Central Command Director of Logistics and Engineering Major General Jeffrey Drushal, at a ceremony at Egypt’s Ministry of Defence.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were US Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen, Senior US Defence Official/Defence Attaché Major General Mark Gillette, and senior Ministry of Defence officials in attendance.
The ACSMOU establishes a framework for Egyptian and US military forces to exchange logistic support, supplies, and services. While it does not obligate either side to provide support, it does create a standing mechanism to ensure that the military forces of both countries 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 US force participation during Bright Star 2021, a multilateral exercise that will continue the tradition of Egypt and the US, as well as partner nations working together to promote readiness to respond to regional threats. At the same time, this aims to build a mutual framework of countering terrorism and maintaining regional peace and security.
In conjunction with the signing, Ambassador Cohen noted that the US military relationship with Egypt has been a foundation of the US-Egypt strategic partnership for more than 40 years.
“US equipment supports the Egyptian Air Force, Land Forces, Navy, and Border Guard in countering threats to Egypt’s security,” he said, “Defence 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 US has Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreements (ACSAs) 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 more flexibility for operational commanders.
