Egypt has taken delivery of the first of two French Mistral warships as part of a military deal between Paris and Cairo in 2015.
France agreed last year to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt for $1 billion, which were originally intended for sale to Russia.
The first warship, named Gamal Abdel Nasser after Egypt’s late president, is reportedly headed toward Alexandria where it is expected to arrive within weeks.
During a handover ceremony in the western French port of Saint-Nazaire on Thursday, Egyptian Defense Minister Sedky Sobhi said the second warship would arrive in September.
“It [the warship] increases our combat capabilities and our ability to carry out long-term missions at sea...and we are awaiting on the arrival of the second in September,” he said.
Sobhi added that his country has now advanced capabilities to “confront terrorism” within its borders and on its shores.
The assault ships are capable of carrying 16 helicopter gunships, 700 troops and as many as 50 armored vehicles. They had been ordered by Russia in 2011.
However, the 1.2-billion-euro (USD 1.3-billion) deal between Paris and Moscow fell apart over the crisis in Ukraine as France along with its western allies accused Russia of having a hand in the eastern Ukraine conflict.
France finally agreed in August to return some 950 million euros (USD 1 billion) already paid by Russia following eight months of intense negotiations.
The deal for purchasing the warships by Cairo was signed during a visit by French President Francois Hollande to the Egyptian capital in April.
The Mistral warships were the second big military deal between Paris and Cairo in 2015 after the North African country acquired 24 advanced fighter jets from France under a separate contract worth 5.2 billion euros (USD 5.9 billion).
Amnesty International condemned the decision to sell the jets to Egypt over its “alarming” human rights abuses.
Egypt’s former army chief and current president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has been engaged in a massive crackdown on protesters over the past two years, killing hundreds of political activists, mostly affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Many others have died inside detention facilities while the judiciary has sentenced hundreds more to death.
