Egypt raises flag on second Mistral helicopter carrier Anwar El-Sadat

The commander-in-chief of Egypt's navy raised the Egyptian flag Friday on board the Mistral-class Landing Helicopter Dock which Cairo bought from France in 2015, state-owned MENA agency reported. The carrier--which is named after late president Anwar El-Sadat--was received by Vice Admiral Osama Rabie during an inauguration ceremony at Saint-Nazaire harbor in western France. This is the second carrier that Egypt has officially received this year; in June it received the first Mistral helicopter dock -- named after late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser -- in Alexandria coming from the French city of Toulouse. The contract for the two Mistral carriers, which was finalised in September last year, was valued at 950 million Euros, according to AFP. The Mistral deal is part of several defence contracts Egypt has signed with France, with the European country now topping the list of countries to have signed military supply agreements with Egypt during the term of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.