CAIRO: French President Francois Hollande will meet with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi Monday in New York, MENA reported a source at the Elysee as saying.
Sisi has met with several world leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Sisi and Hollande will discuss the situation in the Middle East, mostly notable Syria and Libya, counterterrorism efforts, the Palestinian issue, as well as further economic and military cooperation between the two states. Hollande attended the August inauguration of the New Suez Canal in person.
On Sept. 23, the French government announced that Egypt had agreed to buy two Mistral-class warships from Paris, which would be the second military deal between the two countries in 2015. Egypt has undergone several naval maneuvers in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean over the past two years with France, Greece, Russia, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Saudi Arabia. The exercises took place in Egyptian, Gulf, and European waters.
It has not been revealed how much Egypt would pay in the deal, but Egypt, amid a struggling economy and “war on terror,” purchased 24 Rafale fighter jets from France in February for $5.6 billion.
A Russian military source told Al-Arabiya last week that Egypt plans to purchase 50 K-52 helicopters from Moscow. The batch of helicopters is designed to land on the Mistral ships, according to the source.
On Sept. 22, the military ended the first phase of military campaign the Right of the Marty in North Sinai, which lasted for 16 days. It reported killing 535 “terrorists,” arresting 634 wanted persons, dismantling 478 bombs and destroying 613 “terrorist hubs.”