Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received in Cairo on Wednesday Mark Allen, the president of Boeing, to discuss civil and defence cooperation between Egypt and the American multinational corporation. The meeting was attended by Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy, according to a statement by Egypt's presidential spokesman. El-Sisi expressed Cairo's interest in boosting cooperation between Egypt and Boeing as a leading company in commercial, military, security and aerospace industries. Allen expressed appreciation for his company's more than 50-year presence in the Egyptian market, stressing Boeing's interest in increasing cooperation with the country in light of Egypt's accelerating development process. The president of Boeing also affirmed the company's keenness to take part in the Egyptian International Defense and Arms Exhibition EDEX 2018, scheduled to be held in Cairo in December. The exhibition will be the first of its kind in the North and Central Africa region, with the participation of the largest Egyptian and international companies working in the defence field. The meeting also involved a discussion of the current cooperation between Egypt and Boeing, which includes the provision of commercial aircraft, and discussed developing Egypt's flagship carrier's fleet. El-Sisi and Allen also discussed cooperation with Boeing in other fields related to the company's services, such as establishing a local and regional centre in Egypt to serve the Middle East and Africa in aircraft operation and maintenance. As of January 2018, EgyptAir's fleet contained 37 Boeing 737-800, 777-200ER and 777-200ER aircrafts. Last December, Egypt received the ninth B737-800 aircraft, the last in a $864 million deal signed in July 2016 between the national flag carrier and Boeing.
