Two weeks earlier, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi had received the Legion of Honour at the Elysée Palace from the hands of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Since coming to power in 2014, al-Sisi has intensified the arms trade with both countries, as well as with China.
If France is the main exporter of arms to Cairo, Italy isn’t far behind, and since the killing of Italian academic Giulio Regeni, Rome has not stopped signing contracts for military orders with Egypt.
Regeni was a 28-year-old Cambridge University doctoral student, who went missing in Cairo in January 2016. His mutilated body was found days later in the city s suburbs, and a post-mortem examination showed he had been tortured.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella has said he is expecting full cooperation from Egypt on the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of student Giulio Regeni.
Last Wednesday, Rome s Public Prosecutor s Office formally requested the opening of a trial against four Egyptian police officers implicated in the murder.
Regeni, 28, was abducted by assailants in Cairo in January 2016, and his mutilated body was found several days later in the city s suburbs. The Cambridge University doctoral student had been researching Egyptian trade unions, a very sensitive subject in the country.
Four men, including a general and major within Egypt s National Security Agency, are suspected of kidnapping, grievous bodily harm, and conspiracy to commit murder, Rome has stated.
Regeni case, investigation closed: four Egyptian 007s to trial unionesarda.it - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from unionesarda.it Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.