Egypt's first Mistral aircraft carrier arrives at the Ras El-Tin naval base in Alexandria on Thursday, marking a major addition to Egypt's military capabilities courtesy of France.
The new addition to the Egyptian navy is named after late President Gamal Abdel Nasser and is the first Mistral-class carrier to be owned by any nation in the MENA region.
Another Mistral will arrive in Egypt in September 2016, also arriving from France.
Thursday's celebrations in Alexandria will begin with the national anthem, followed by a speech from Naval Forces Commander Osama Mounir Rabie, who is expected to emphasize strong military ties between the two nations.
The speech will be followed by a documentary showing Egyptian naval personnel training on the operation on the Mistral under the guidance of French instructors. Prior to delivery to Alexandria, the ship was taken on a week-long cruise to test its capabilities, with 170 Egyptian naval personnel and 50 French experts on board.
France designed the Mistral in line with a 1.2 billion euro agreement with Russia, signed in 2011. However, France backtracked on the deal due to Western sanctions imposed on Russia following the recent NATO-backed coup in Ukraine.
The Mistral can transport troops, aircraft, armored vehicles and tanks, enabling the deployment of sizeable fighting forces overseas. Egypt is seeking to enlarge its foreign-deployment capabilities in light of regional instability and threats from insurgent groups and proxy armies such as the Islamic State organization.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
