The French defence industrialists who will participate in the Egypt Defence Expo 2021 (EDEX) in New Cairo from 29 November to 2 December are busy preparing for the show. To bring them up to speed on the event, the French trade association GICAT, which is overseeing the French pavilion, organised a conference on 18 November on its premises to present the situation in Egypt and the wider region.
Colonel Thierry Gilistro took part in the gathering as a keynote speaker. With his in-depth knowledge of security issues in North Africa and the Middle East - he was the French defence attaché in Egypt and then in Libya - he has been advising Dassault Aviation since 2019 and facilitated the negotiations for the sale of 30 additional Rafales to the Egyptian Air Force - a landmark contract that has just come into effect.
Since the diplomatic reconciliation between presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the end of 2020, defence cooperation with Cairo has become a priority for Paris (AI, 01/10/21). Among the 30 or so French companies that will be represented at EDEX are Airbus Group, Arquus, Nexter, MBDA, Dassault, Thales and Safran.
Colonel Thierry Gilistro took part in the gathering as a keynote speaker. With his in-depth knowledge of security issues in North Africa and the Middle East - he was the French defence attaché in Egypt and then in Libya - he has been advising Dassault Aviation since 2019 and facilitated the negotiations for the sale of 30 additional Rafales to the Egyptian Air Force - a landmark contract that has just come into effect.
Since the diplomatic reconciliation between presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the end of 2020, defence cooperation with Cairo has become a priority for Paris (AI, 01/10/21). Among the 30 or so French companies that will be represented at EDEX are Airbus Group, Arquus, Nexter, MBDA, Dassault, Thales and Safran.
