Turkey, Egypt to jointly hold naval exercise

ANKARA, Nov. 15 -- Turkey's General Staff said Sunday Turkish and Egyptian naval forces will conduct a military exercise in the eastern Mediterranean Sea next week, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

The Friendship Sea-2009 Turkish-Egypt Bilateral Military Exercise, due from Nov. 16 to 21, aims to boost cooperation between the two countries' naval forces, the agency said, citing a General Staff statement.

Turkey will dispatch two frigates, two assault boats, a submarine, a corvette, a tugboat, two fast petrol boats and an underwater assault team to the drill, the report said.

For the Egyptian part, two frigates, two assault boats, a ship, a helicopter and an underwater assault team will join the exercise, according to the report.