Egypt receives first of French warships

Egypt has received the first of two advanced warships from France in a deal worth $1bn (£692m). The Mistral helicopter carriers were originally made for Russia, but the contract was cancelled in 2014 over the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The first of the ships, which has been named after the late president Gamal Abdel Nasser, […]

Egypt has received the first of two advanced warships from France in a deal worth $1bn (£692m). The Mistral helicopter carriers were originally made for Russia, but the contract was cancelled in 2014 over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The first of the ships, which has been named after the late president Gamal Abdel Nasser, was handed over at a ceremony in western France. The second ship, the Anwar Sadat, will arrive in Egypt in September.
Egypt is fighting a long-running insurgency in its northern Sinai region and fears being affected by the conflict in neighbouring Libya. Egypt’s Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi, attending the ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, said the ships gave Egypt the “advanced capabilities in confronting terrorism within our borders and on our shores