China delivers 120th local-manufactured training aircraft to Egypt

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-05/27/c_13317812.htm

English.news.cn 2010-05-27 07:38:37

CAIRO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China delivered on Wednesday a local- manufactured K-8E advanced training aircraft to Egyptian Air Force (EAF) in a ceremony celebrating the Sino-Egyptian co-production program.

It is the 120th and the last aircraft that the Egyptian side receives from the Chinese Aviation Technology Import-Export Cooperation (CATIC) within the co-production program.

The CATIC and Egyptian Defense Ministry reached agreement on the program in 1999, in which the two sides agreed on to produce 80 aircraft of K-8E as first stage and another 40 as second.

It was decided that K-8E aircraft would be manufactured at the Aircraft Factory of Egypt to reach a local manufacturing rate over 94 percent, and an aviation research center would be established within the scope of the K-8E aircraft program, so as to establish the Egyptian aviation industry.

"The success of the K-8E aircraft local manufacturing program that we are celebrating today comes as a result of the close cooperation, creative efforts, persistence and faithful work of the three participants of this program namely, EAF, CATIC and the Aircraft Factory," he added.

Waheba pledged Egypt's cooperation with the Chinese aviation industry to meet the requirements of the Egyptian Air Force as well as those of the air forces of Arab and African countries.

"The local manufacturing of the K-8E aircraft is an extremely model of success of Sino-Egyptian cooperation in the aviation industry," Waheba said.

For his part, President of Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) Lin Zuoming praised the cooperation between China and Egypt in the field of aviation industries.

"K-8E is not only an important embodiment of Sino-Egyptian strategic cooperation, but also a successful example of Sino- African cooperation," Lin said.

He stressed that the K-8E program has been attached a great care and attention by leaders of the two countries since the beginning of the cooperation.

"Both President Hu Jintao and President Mubarak praised this program as a model of Sino-Egyptian cooperation," Lin said.

China and Egypt established a strategic cooperation partnership in 1999, and bilateral trade reached around 6 billion U.S. dollars last year.
"This program began with the Egyptian Air Force's choosing of the K-8E aircraft to be their main training aircraft in replacement of the Czech L-29 Trainer," said Marshal Hamdy Waheba, head of Arab Organization for Industries during the celebration of the delivery.