Egypt: France secures naval contract

France had secured its first major military contract in Egypt in about 20 years with a EUR1 billion (R14.4bn) deal to sell four naval frigates, a French diplomatic source said at the weekend.

“We have good bilateral relations,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in Cairo after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El Sisi. “We discussed economic aspects and… contracts, including in the defence sector.”

DCNS, in which the French state has a majority stake, won the tender to provide four corvette frigates to the Egyptian navy. Turmoil since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted has left Western governments wary of signing contracts with Egypt, especially in the defence sector.