https://www.reuters.com/article/us-f...-idUSKBN2CK22H
France to sell Egypt 30 fighter jets in $4.5 billion deal: Egyptian defense ministry, report
PARIS (Reuters) - Egypt has signed a contract with France to buy 30 Rafale fighter jets, its defence ministry said in a statement early on Tuesday, in a deal that investigative website Disclose said on Monday was worth 3.75 billion euro ($4.5 billion).
President Emmanuel Macron said in December he would not make the sale of weapons to Egypt conditional on human rights because he did not want to weaken Cairo’s ability to counter terrorism in the region, a comment that drew the ire of critics.
Egypt’s defense ministry said the deal would be financed through a loan to be re-paid over at least 10 years, but did not disclose the value of the deal or further details.
Citing confidential documents, Disclose said an agreement had been concluded at the end of April and a deal could be sealed on Tuesday when an Egyptian delegation arrives in Paris.
This deal would be a further boost for the Dassault-made warplane after a 2.5 billion euro agreement was finalised in January for the sale of 18 Rafales to Greece.
The Egyptian accord also reportedly covers contracts for missile provider MBDA and equipment provider Safran Electronics & Defense which are worth another 200 million euros.
France’s finance, foreign and armed forces ministries were not immediately available for comment.......