President Abdel Fattah El Sisi hailed the performance of graduates of the army's instructor non-commissioned officers (NCOs) institute.

While attending the graduation ceremony of Batch 151 of instructor NCOs on Sunday, Sisi said NCOs are the strong arm of the army to build modern forces capable of protecting the Egyptian national security, presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, Defense Minister Sedqi Sobhi and Army Chief-of-Staff Mahmoud Hegazy attended the ceremony along with a number of army commanders, ministers and governors and the graduates' families.

The president awarded excellent graduates the Medal of Military Duty in appreciation of their dedication during academic study.