Saudi Arabia will help Egypt to purchase the Mistral-class ships, newspaper Express reported quoting a source in the French government. "The help will be significant," the statement in the newspaper read. Earlier, the Express reported that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have helped Egypt before in the acquisition of French military equipment, in particular the fighter jet Rafale, a contract which was signed in February 2015. On Wednesday, France's President Francois Hollande and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Sisi agreed on Egypt's acquisition of two Mistral-class ships. "The President of the Republic spoke with President Sisi They agreed on the principle and terms of the purchase of two Mistral-class projection and command ships by Egypt," the statement read. It is assumed that one of the Mistrals will serve in the Red Sea, and the other will be positioned in the Mediterranean. According to a source in France's Ministry of Defense, the ships could be delivered to Egypt in March 2016, after the Egyptian navy crews go through training. The volume of other French arms purchased by Egypt amounted to 1.1 billion euros.
