Egypt signs deal with France to buy two warships

Middle East, News October 11, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

A French delegation arrived in Egypt ahead of the deal, including French Prime Minister Manuel Valls as well as 63 diplomats

CAIRO: Egypt and France officially signed a military deal on Saturday under which Egypt will buy two Mistral-class warships from France.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls attended the ceremony of the signature in the Presidential Palace.

On September 23, French President Francois Hollande announced he had agreed the sale with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The deal was the second major military contract this year between France and Egypt, which Hollande said he increasingly views as a strategic partner.

Cairo would pay 950 million euros ($1 billion) for the vessels, with “significant” Saudi financing, French government sources said.

The two warships, which can each carry 16 helicopters, four landing craft and 13 tanks, were ordered by Russia in 2011 in a 1.2-billion-euro deal.

French Prime Minister’s visit to Cairo is part of his visits to three Arab nations to boost economic ties and discuss regional conflicts.

“France has a special relationship with its three allies (Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia),” Prime minister Manuel Valls has been insisting during his Middle East tour. It’s a relationship borne out of mutual interests against the scourge of Islamic State and the deepening refugee crisis.

After Egypt and Jordan, French Prime minister Manuel Valls is due to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday where he is expected to sign a series of aerospace contracts with his Saudi partners, RFI reported.

La France engagée pour la stabilité et la sécurité de l’Égypte. Une nouvelle illustration : les Mistral. pic.twitter.com/OPy86nuauG

— Manuel Valls (@manuelvalls) October 10, 2015