France will discuss a possible deal to sell more Rafale fighter jets to Egypt during President s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi current visit to Paris, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told French radio station Europe 1 on Tuesday.
France has signed a number of military deals with Egypt, including the sale of 24 Rafale fighter jets, multi-tasking frigates and two Mistral warships in contracts worth of €6 billion.
On Tuesday, Europe 1 asked Le Maire to comment on reports of a possible new deal for Rafale jets.
"If new contracts can be made, it will be much better," he said.
"A for the terms of payment, President Emmanuel Macaron is set to discuss this during his meeting with President El-Sisi on Tuesday. However, it is standard that the French Ministry of Finance seeks guarantees that Egypt will be able to pay for the deal," Le Maire said.
Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale fighter jet declined to comment to Reuters.
Last July, Egypt received two Dassault-built Rafale fighter jets from France, the fourth batch from a deal signed in 2015.
The deal involves the sale of 24 Rafale jets, of which Egypt has received 11.
The first three jets were delivered in July 2015, the second batch arrived in January 2016, while the third was delivered in April.
