China Delivers First Batch of Training Planes to Egypt

China Delivers First Batch of Training Planes to Egypt

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The first batch of training planes manufactured in a joint Egyptian-Chinese factory were delivered in Cairo on Wednesday.

The K-8E planes, produced under a contract signed between Egypt and China in December 1999, were mainly used for training pilots.

This was the biggest cooperative project in the military industry between the two sides, said Liu Jibin, Chinese minister of Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense at the delivery ceremony.

Liu also lauded the project as a "model" of the south-south cooperation, saying that its success will push forward cooperation in the field of national defense and bilateral ties.

Salah Halabi, board chairman of Egypt's Arab Organization for Industrialization, said that "the production of the training planes signals a major step towards reviving a 40-year-old national project for the aviation industry in Egypt."

Under the contract, China and Egypt will co-produce a total of 80 K-8E planes. China will supply parts and production facilities to be assembled in Egypt.