Egypt Launches the Largest Military Base in the Middle East.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has inaugurated a military base in the country’s northwestern city of Al-Hammam to protect facilities and projects in coastal cities.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi inaugurated on July 22, 2017, the Mohamed Naguib Military Base, located in Al-Hammam area, west of Alexandria. Students from several military colleges and institutions were graduating at the event.

At the beginning of the ceremony, a guard of honor was presented to the dignitaries, and the Egyptian national anthem was played. Later, the Egyptian President handed over the base flag to the Commander of the Northern Military Region. A film about joint military training with Arab countries was screened, followed by the Egyptian flag raising ceremony.

The base is named after Mohamed Naguib, the primary leader of the Egyptian revolution in 1952, which ended the Mohamed Ali dynasty that ruled over Egypt and Sudan from 1805 until 1952 and the first president of the Republic of Egypt after its establishment on June 18, 1953.

The Mohamed Naguib Military Base

The base, reportedly the largest in the Middle East, is built on what used to be a military city, constructed in 1993, and consists of 1,155 buildings built and renovated over the past two years. It is expected that the base will have a museum commemorating Naguib as well as a mosque with a capacity for 2,000 individuals, sports fields, and swimming pools.

The military base will serve as a headquarters for some forces of the Northern Military Region, which is expected to increase its efficiency in protecting west of Alexandria, the North Coast, the currently under construction Al-Dabaa nuclear power plant, oil fields, the new Alamein City, among other sites. The base will also be used in military exercises with the armies of other countries.

The base consists of a production unit to achieve self-sufficiency with 379 feddans (approx. 393 acres) of fruit trees and 1,600 feddans (approx. 1660 acres) of seasonal plants and vegetables.

The Arab Delegations

High-profile Arab delegations attended the event which coincides with Egypt’s celebration of the 65th anniversary of the 23 July 1952 revolution. Among the Arab delegations were representatives from Gulf countries, including Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain, Prince Khalid Al Faisal, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Mecca province, Sheikh Mohammad Al Khaled, Kuwait’s deputy prime minister and minister of defense and Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

The opening of the Mohamed Naguib Military Base comes months after a similar base was established near the border with Libya. Authorities have said that the Barrani Military Base, close to the porous western border, aims to prevent infiltration of militants from Libya, a country plagued by militancy over the past six years.

President Al-Sisi’s Opening Remarks

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi underlined that the Arab participation in the inauguration ceremony of Mohammed Naguib military base is a cogent proof of Arab unity and welcomed the Arab leaders on behalf of the Egyptian people. Addressing Arab military graduates, he said we send a message to the world that Arabs join hands to build not to destroy, connive or foment sedition.