In August of 2021, after four decades of peace, Maj. Gen. Tracy R. Norris, the Texas adjutant general; Rep. Michael McCaul; Barakat Elleithy, the minister plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt;  and Livia Link-Raviv, consul general of Israel in Houston, commemorated the signing of the Egypt-Israeli Peace Agreement and creation of the Multinational Force Observers.

In the past decade, the Texas National Guard has built a partnership with Egypt as they contributed soldiers to the MFO mission and Egypt has formally joined Texas in a State Partnership Program.

During the ceremony, a citation of the Congressional Record honoring the continued efforts to maintain peace in the region and a U.S. flag were presented to both Egyptian and Israeli representatives.

As the relationship between Texas and Egypt continues to strengthen and grow, both agreed that the partnership offers new ways of furthering peace and prosperity in the region and further expect cooperative training opportunities in cyber defense, logistics, Special Forces, homeland security response, and military support to civilian authorities.

As the commander of the 112th Cavalry during its rotation in the MFO, Lt. Col. Gabriel Simonds said working with the Texas Military Department’s state partner benefited both nations.

“We look forward to continuing the legacy of the successful partnership the MFO and Texas have had,” Norris said. “The MFO has shown for 40 years what can be accomplished when solid partnerships are formed, and I expect more great things to happen as we grow our relationship with Egypt in the State Partnership Program.”