Cairo, Paris to sign deal for 12 new Rafale fighter aircrafts

CAIRO – 16 November 2017: A deal for 12 new Rafale fighter aircrafts is expected to be signed within the coming weeks between Egypt and France according to sources who spoke to La Tribune, Thursday November 16.

According to a report published on the French newspaper’s website, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian negotiated the deal with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi while attending the World Youth Forum (WYF) in Sharm El-Sheikh last week.

The unnamed source told La Tribune that the French President Emmanuel Macron requested the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance (Bercy) to be more lenient with the Egyptian government payments options after reconsidering a guarantee that the annually expected growth for the Egyptian economy would reach 6 percent.

“Cairo has money to pay the bills. In particular, Egypt will be able to rely on gas production in the Mediterranean from the end of this year,” the source told La Tribune.

During his three-day visit to France last month, Sisi discussed the relations between the two countries with his French counterpart.

Sources added that Macron and Sisi discussed a mutual desire for a continued relationship of trust between France and Egypt, noted in the framework of strategic partnership between the two countries re-launched in 2015.

Military deals have expanded between Egypt and France starting in 2015 to include Mistral class helicopter carriers, Dassault Rafale fighters, FREMM multipurpose frigates and more. In addition, joint military exercises have been taking place, such as the Cleopatra naval and urban exercises launched in 2017, the Nefertari air exercise, the Ramses military exercise, and the Bright Star exercises comprised of multiple nationalities.