Egypt signed a deal with France Saturday to buy two Mistral warships originally ordered by Russia as French Prime Minister Manuel Valls began an Arab tour.
Valls arrived in Cairo at the start of visits to three nations aimed at boosting economic ties and holding talks on regional conflicts, and met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
He told a press conference: “Egypt is a central partner for dealing with all the crises affecting the region — Syria, the peace process between Israel and Palestine, tensions in Libya or in Yemen.”
He added that France believes the world needs a “strong and stable Egypt”, concluding that “we all have a common enemy — Daesh”, an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. Details