Egypt and Saudi Arabia are interested in buying two French Mistral warships that had been sold to Russia before Paris scrapped the deal, French media reported Friday, citing an official French source. 
© Mehdi Chebil, FRANCE 24 | The Sevastopol ♆
"Egypt and Saudi Arabia are desperate to buy two Mistrals," an unnamed official French source told France’s leading daily, Le Monde. “King Salman of Saudi Arabia wants to build a fleet in Egypt which could project regional power in the Red Sea and Mediterranean," said the source. "Some countries in the region have displayed a marked interest in the Mistrals with the aim of establishing a [regional] maritime force.”
The report of Egyptian and Saudi interest in acquiring the two French-made warships came a day after French President François Hollande attended a ceremony marking the inauguration of a major Suez Canal extension in the Egyptian port city of Ismailia Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in Ismailia, Hollande said France would have “no difficulty” finding buyers for the Mistrals originally bound for Russia.
Two of the 200-metre (650-foot) amphibious helicopter carriers were due for delivery to Russia by the end of this year in a deal worth an estimated €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion).
But Paris delayed, and eventually refused, to deliver the warships to Moscow over Russia's suspected backing of separatists in east Ukraine.
Hollande's office announced late Wednesday that a deal had been reached with President Vladimir Putin to pay Russia compensation for cancelling the delivery of the two Mistrals. Russia will be "fully reimbursed" for the warships, the Elysée Palace said in a statement.
A joint Arab force
Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s reported interest in the French warships comes as the two Sunni powers have been pushing for a joint Arab force to counter the threat of Islamist militancy on the heels of an Iran nuclear deal that has rattled several Sunni Arab regimes.
On July 30, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a “Cairo Declaration” aimed at boosting military ties and economic cooperation between the two countries.
In a statement announcing the signing of the Cairo Declaration, the Egyptian presidential office noted that, “The two sides stressed the need to exert all efforts to boost security and stability in the region, and to work together to protect Arab national security,” in what was widely viewed as a reference to Shiite Iran’s growing influence in the region.
Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in keeping the Egyptian economy afloat following Sisi’s ouster of the democratically elected former Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi. Despite international condemnation over Morsi’s ouster, oil-rich Saudi Arabia gave Egypt a financial assistance package of more than €3.7 billion (4 billion USD).
France, Egypt cooperation in fight against Islamist violence
Military ties between France and Egypt, the world’s most populous Arab nation, have also strengthened two years after Morsi’s ouster.
In November 2014, during a state visit to France, Sisi reached an agreement in principle on the sale of 24 French-made Rafale fighter jets and a FREMM multipurpose frigate. The deal was finalised in February.
During his latest visit to Egypt, Hollande reiterated France’s will to "give Egypt the means to act” in the fighter against Islamist violence in the region. "Today, relations between France and Egypt are based on common interests: the fight against terrorism and security," said Hollande, recalling the increased terrorist threat in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Egypt.
Sisi has been at the forefront of calling for the Arab force to fight insurgents in the region after the Islamic State (IS) group in February executed 21 Coptic Christians, all but one of them Egyptian, in Libya.Saudi, UAE, Kuwait Helped Finance Egypt’s Rafale BuySaudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait pumped US$19.5 billion into the Egyptian central bank which enabled French lending institutions to finance Cairo’s Dassault Rafale fighter purchase.
Details of how a cash strapped government of Egyptian President Sisi was able to strike a US$ 6 billion arms package deal with Paris are now emerging in French and Egyptian media reports. A banking source in London contracted by defenseworld.net said this is perhaps the first time an arms deal which resembles a large industrial investment has been worked out.
"Egypt will finance a little over half of the amount, the rest being borrowed from a pool of banks,” a source from within the French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s delegation which signed the Egyptian deal was quoted as saying by a French newspaper.
According to Les Echos newspaper, the banking pool would consist of a dozen institutions, including Crédit Agricole, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas.
The loan is to be secured by the credit insurer Coface, thus ensuring around 2.5 billion euros in loans which will be guaranteed by the French state, “a new level of insurance in an arms deal,” said Les Echos.
Egypt is to pay the balance 2.5 billion Euros as per delivery schedules of the military hardware. However, the cash strapped Egyptian government would not be able to keep its repayment commitments. Cairo is facing a budget deficit of 17.7% and the growth rate for 2014-2015 is estimated at 3.8% of GDP (as per International Monetary Fund projections) with revenues from tourism, investment and inward remittances plunging to record lows. If Mistrals Sold to Egypt or India, Russian Equipment Won't Be Removed
@ sputnik ♆
A French official cited by defense news website Defense One said that Moscow has signaled that Russian telecommunications and missile control systems installed onboard the Mistral helicopter carriers may not be removed, if Egypt or India were to purchase the warships.
The unnamed official indicated that Russian officials had "let it be known" that Moscow "could accept India and Egypt receiving the equipment" if either of the two countries were to buy the ships, originally ordered by Russia in 2011 in a botched deal which has since forced Paris to refund Russia €949.7 million over the contract's cancellation.
The official also suggested that if the equipment were to remain onboard the ships, it would help Russia to keep close links with Cairo.
Some €56.7 million of the refund amount had gone toward covering the Russian-made equipment on board the ship, as well as training. Earlier this month, Russian officials announced that Moscow and Paris would hold talks on September 21 over the dismantling of Russian equipment aboard the warships, noting that the Russian-made components would be dismantled and returned to Russia by late November.
France is now in the process of attempting to sell the carriers to a new buyer, with Egypt said to be the leading prospective buyer. Last week, French officials announced that a deal with Egypt "is among the serious options" for the ships' sale. As the Wall Street Journal had explained late last month, if Cairo were to purchase the ships, it would give Egypt's navy "some of the most advanced pieces of equipment in the arsenal of a Middle Eastern military," with the ships capable of transporting hundreds of troops, 16 helicopters, tanks and armored vehicles, and featuring a command-and-control system capable of directing these forces in battle.
Along with Egypt and India, several other countries, including Brazil, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates had signaled their interest in the amphibious assault ships. According to unconfirmed reports, the buyer would also be offered to purchase the Russian-made Kamov Ka-52K helicopters tailored specifically for the ships.
Egypt has recently signed an agreement with France to purchase $5.2 billion in military equipment, including a frigate, four Gowind corvettes and 24 Rafale fighter jets, as well as arms from missile manufacturers MBDA and Sagem. Cairo is in talks with French officials on the purchase of two more corvettes. India, meanwhile, is in talks with Paris on the purchase of 36 Rafales.
© Mehdi Chebil, FRANCE 24 | The Sevastopol ♆"Egypt and Saudi Arabia are desperate to buy two Mistrals," an unnamed official French source told France’s leading daily, Le Monde. “King Salman of Saudi Arabia wants to build a fleet in Egypt which could project regional power in the Red Sea and Mediterranean," said the source. "Some countries in the region have displayed a marked interest in the Mistrals with the aim of establishing a [regional] maritime force.”
The report of Egyptian and Saudi interest in acquiring the two French-made warships came a day after French President François Hollande attended a ceremony marking the inauguration of a major Suez Canal extension in the Egyptian port city of Ismailia Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in Ismailia, Hollande said France would have “no difficulty” finding buyers for the Mistrals originally bound for Russia.
Two of the 200-metre (650-foot) amphibious helicopter carriers were due for delivery to Russia by the end of this year in a deal worth an estimated €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion).
But Paris delayed, and eventually refused, to deliver the warships to Moscow over Russia's suspected backing of separatists in east Ukraine.
Hollande's office announced late Wednesday that a deal had been reached with President Vladimir Putin to pay Russia compensation for cancelling the delivery of the two Mistrals. Russia will be "fully reimbursed" for the warships, the Elysée Palace said in a statement.
A joint Arab force
Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s reported interest in the French warships comes as the two Sunni powers have been pushing for a joint Arab force to counter the threat of Islamist militancy on the heels of an Iran nuclear deal that has rattled several Sunni Arab regimes.
On July 30, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a “Cairo Declaration” aimed at boosting military ties and economic cooperation between the two countries.
In a statement announcing the signing of the Cairo Declaration, the Egyptian presidential office noted that, “The two sides stressed the need to exert all efforts to boost security and stability in the region, and to work together to protect Arab national security,” in what was widely viewed as a reference to Shiite Iran’s growing influence in the region.
Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in keeping the Egyptian economy afloat following Sisi’s ouster of the democratically elected former Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi. Despite international condemnation over Morsi’s ouster, oil-rich Saudi Arabia gave Egypt a financial assistance package of more than €3.7 billion (4 billion USD).
France, Egypt cooperation in fight against Islamist violence
Military ties between France and Egypt, the world’s most populous Arab nation, have also strengthened two years after Morsi’s ouster.
In November 2014, during a state visit to France, Sisi reached an agreement in principle on the sale of 24 French-made Rafale fighter jets and a FREMM multipurpose frigate. The deal was finalised in February.
During his latest visit to Egypt, Hollande reiterated France’s will to "give Egypt the means to act” in the fighter against Islamist violence in the region. "Today, relations between France and Egypt are based on common interests: the fight against terrorism and security," said Hollande, recalling the increased terrorist threat in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Egypt.
Sisi has been at the forefront of calling for the Arab force to fight insurgents in the region after the Islamic State (IS) group in February executed 21 Coptic Christians, all but one of them Egyptian, in Libya.Saudi, UAE, Kuwait Helped Finance Egypt’s Rafale BuySaudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait pumped US$19.5 billion into the Egyptian central bank which enabled French lending institutions to finance Cairo’s Dassault Rafale fighter purchase.
Details of how a cash strapped government of Egyptian President Sisi was able to strike a US$ 6 billion arms package deal with Paris are now emerging in French and Egyptian media reports. A banking source in London contracted by defenseworld.net said this is perhaps the first time an arms deal which resembles a large industrial investment has been worked out.
"Egypt will finance a little over half of the amount, the rest being borrowed from a pool of banks,” a source from within the French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s delegation which signed the Egyptian deal was quoted as saying by a French newspaper.
According to Les Echos newspaper, the banking pool would consist of a dozen institutions, including Crédit Agricole, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas.
The loan is to be secured by the credit insurer Coface, thus ensuring around 2.5 billion euros in loans which will be guaranteed by the French state, “a new level of insurance in an arms deal,” said Les Echos.
Egypt is to pay the balance 2.5 billion Euros as per delivery schedules of the military hardware. However, the cash strapped Egyptian government would not be able to keep its repayment commitments. Cairo is facing a budget deficit of 17.7% and the growth rate for 2014-2015 is estimated at 3.8% of GDP (as per International Monetary Fund projections) with revenues from tourism, investment and inward remittances plunging to record lows. If Mistrals Sold to Egypt or India, Russian Equipment Won't Be Removed
@ sputnik ♆A French official cited by defense news website Defense One said that Moscow has signaled that Russian telecommunications and missile control systems installed onboard the Mistral helicopter carriers may not be removed, if Egypt or India were to purchase the warships.
The unnamed official indicated that Russian officials had "let it be known" that Moscow "could accept India and Egypt receiving the equipment" if either of the two countries were to buy the ships, originally ordered by Russia in 2011 in a botched deal which has since forced Paris to refund Russia €949.7 million over the contract's cancellation.
The official also suggested that if the equipment were to remain onboard the ships, it would help Russia to keep close links with Cairo.
Some €56.7 million of the refund amount had gone toward covering the Russian-made equipment on board the ship, as well as training. Earlier this month, Russian officials announced that Moscow and Paris would hold talks on September 21 over the dismantling of Russian equipment aboard the warships, noting that the Russian-made components would be dismantled and returned to Russia by late November.
France is now in the process of attempting to sell the carriers to a new buyer, with Egypt said to be the leading prospective buyer. Last week, French officials announced that a deal with Egypt "is among the serious options" for the ships' sale. As the Wall Street Journal had explained late last month, if Cairo were to purchase the ships, it would give Egypt's navy "some of the most advanced pieces of equipment in the arsenal of a Middle Eastern military," with the ships capable of transporting hundreds of troops, 16 helicopters, tanks and armored vehicles, and featuring a command-and-control system capable of directing these forces in battle.
Along with Egypt and India, several other countries, including Brazil, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates had signaled their interest in the amphibious assault ships. According to unconfirmed reports, the buyer would also be offered to purchase the Russian-made Kamov Ka-52K helicopters tailored specifically for the ships.
Egypt has recently signed an agreement with France to purchase $5.2 billion in military equipment, including a frigate, four Gowind corvettes and 24 Rafale fighter jets, as well as arms from missile manufacturers MBDA and Sagem. Cairo is in talks with French officials on the purchase of two more corvettes. India, meanwhile, is in talks with Paris on the purchase of 36 Rafales.
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