How the French defense industry progresses in Egypt
The French defense industry has been returning to Egypt's favor since the beginning of the year. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
The improvement in relations between Egypt and the French defense industry was confirmed in May with the sale of 30 Dassault Rafale fighters .
Another sign of confidence came on 22 and 23 September, when an anti-drone seminar was held in Cairo. It brought together the staff of the Egyptian army, including the air defense corps and a group of electronic warfare experts (radar, drones and air traffic control), and French companies selected by the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), the supply agency of the French army, which coordinated the event.
Mbda and Thales presented their catalog, as well as emerging players in the anti-drone sector, such as MC2 Technologies, CS Group, CILAS, Cerbair, Innov'ATM and Hologarde.
The French embassy in Cairo has sent members of its military team to provide support. Colonel Guirec Fauchon, the defense attache, and Lieutenant Colonel Marc Jacoud, his deputy for aviation affairs, were both present.
The French defense industry has been slowly but surely returning to Egypt's favor since the beginning of the year. This is a consequence of a diplomatic realignment outlined at the end of 2020 by the respective presidents of the two countries, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Emmanuel Macron.
Another relevant aspect is certainly the fact that the Egyptian military high command told the French delegations present at the meeting that any orders could be financed by the United Arab Emirates.
Abu Dhabi has a close relationship with France in terms of cooperation on defense and the fight against terrorism, positions that were reiterated during the meeting of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan with the French president in Fontainebleau on 15 September.
When Egypt bought its first batch of Rafale fighters in 2015, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait paid about $ 20 billion to the Central Bank of Egypt, thus providing a guarantee for the loan from a dozen institutions. French. The UAE is also a major investor in Egypt.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/come-avanza-lindustria-della-difesa-francese-in-egitto/ on Sat, 02 Oct 2021 08:46:59 +0000.