France to sell Egypt 30 fighter jets in $4.5 bln deal -Egyptian defense ministry, report – Reuters

France to sell Egypt 30 fighter jets in $4.5 bln deal -Egyptian defense ministry, report – Reuters

Egypt has signed a contract with France to buy 30 Rafale fighter jets, its defence ministry said in a statement early on Tuesday, in a deal that investigative website Disclose said on Monday was worth 3.75 billion euro ($4.5 billion).

President Emmanuel Macron said in December he would not make the sale of weapons to Egypt conditional on human rights because he did not want to weaken Cairo's ability to counter terrorism in the region, a comment that drew the ire of critics.

Egypt's defense ministry said the deal would be financed through a loan to be re-paid over at least 10 years, but did not disclose the value of the deal or further details.