CAIRO, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the largest military base of the Middle East in the coastal city of Alexandria.
The president raised the Armed Forces flag on the new base in el Hammam city, west of Alexandria.
The military base was named after late president Mohamed Naguib, who orchestrated 1952 revolution which ended the royal regime in Egypt.
The new military base is the biggest in the Middle East and Africa regions, according to official news agency MENA.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Egypt's top officials as well as Arab princes and ambassadors.
The Arab delegation included Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nuhayyan, Saudi King's adviser Prince Khaled al Faysal and Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Since Sisi stepped into office in 2014, he worked on rebuilding the armed forces, concluded many arm deals with the United States, France, Russia and other countries.
Egypt faces security threats which require diversifying the army resources and improving the army preparations, Samir Ghatas, chairman of the Middle East Forum for Strategic and Security Studies told Xinhua.
Ghatas also said that there are challenges on the borders with Libya, Sinai and Sudan. Also preserving the security of Bab al-Mandab strait threatened by the tensions in Yemen is essential for the security of the new and the old Suez Canal, in addition to the necessity to secure the new gas discoveries on the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt should be ready also for entering any war in support of its "Gulf allies, which constitute the defense line for Egypt," the strategic expert added.
