French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian began Saturday a two-day visit to Cairo, days after France delivered the first three of 24 Rafale fighter jets sold to Egypt in a €5.2-billion deal. Le Drian is to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the trip, which is part of his tour of Africa that also includes visits to the Central African Republic, Djibouti and CongoBrazzaville. The sale by France's Dassault Aviation is the first abroad in the 14 years it has been building the warplanes. India and Qatar have also placed orders this year. The French air force has accepted that it will receive five planes this year, instead of the usual 11, so that six may be delivered to Egypt. Egypt bought the jets to boost its military capability in the face of an unstable Libya to the west and the threat posed by the Islamic State group in the Sinai Peninsula. The deal also includes contracts for missiles and for a frigate from naval group DCNS. "The minister will discuss the deliveries of hardware" to Egypt following the Rafale deal, a French official said ahead of Le Drian's visit. Source: RFI
