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Tuesday 21 Jul 2015 - 00:09 Makkah mean time-5-10-1436
 Istres, France (IINA) - Egyptian officials on Monday took delivery of three Rafale fighter jets from France, during a ceremony in Easter Air Force Base south of France, according to media reports.
This delivery was the first of 24 warplanes sold in a 5.2 billion euro deal signed earlier this year.
Egyptian authorities took charge of the planes at an air base in southern France, and they will be flown to Cairo by specially trained pilots on Tuesday. Egyptian pilots were in France for two months to train on how to use the new jets.
On February 16, Egypt sealed a deal with France, purchasing the fighter jets, a multi-mission frigate and short and medium-range missiles, from French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The deal which was worth over 5 billion euros was signed in Cairo by the two countries' defence ministers.
Egypt received the French Frégate Européenne Multi-Missions (FREMM) frigate on June 23.
Days ahead of the official signing in February, French president Francois Hollande announced the deal and said it will "allow Egypt to increase its security and play a full role in the service of regional stability."
It’s noteworthy that India from her side, in April ordered 36 Rafales in a multi-billion-euro deal that took years to conclude.
And in May, Qatar signed a multi-billion-euro deal with Dassault to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in April that talks with the United Arab Emirates on buying Rafales were also headed in the "right direction".
SM/IINA
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