Minister of State for Military Production Salah Suleiman Gomblat on Saturday, July 18, 2026, discussed with Founder and Managing Director of MASAR for Consultancy and Business Development Ahmed el Assar and Chief Executive Officer of Thales Egypt Sherif Barakat the latest developments in their joint cooperation and ways to strengthen partnership in communications equipment and electronics manufacturing.
The meeting took place at the Ministry of Military Production's headquarters in the New Capital. During the meeting, Gomblat reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to implementing the political leadership's directives to localize advanced industrial technologies, deepen local manufacturing, and enhance the competitiveness of products made by military production companies to meet domestic demand and expand into export markets.
He stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships with leading international companies to support the national economy. The meeting reviewed progress on ongoing joint projects and discussed manufacturing components for communications equipment at Benha Electronics Industries Company (Military Factory 144) and integrating them into global supply chains through Thales-Benha, which the minister described as a successful model of Egyptian-French cooperation in military communications.
He said the partnership would help transfer advanced expertise and technology while strengthening Egypt's national manufacturing capabilities. Gomblat directed that all necessary facilities be provided to establish strong industrial partnerships with Thales and expand promising industrial investment opportunities within the ministry's affiliated companies, saying this would serve the mutual interests of both sides while supporting the state's efforts to attract investment and transfer technology.
He added that the ministry is committed to maximizing the use of the advanced manufacturing, technological and technical capabilities of its affiliated companies to meet domestic market needs before expanding exports, supporting Egypt's ambition to become a regional hub for the manufacture and export of communications equipment and electronic devices to regional and international markets.
For his part, Assar said the partnership between the Ministry of Military Production and Thales represents an important step toward localizing advanced industrial technologies and strengthening domestic manufacturing. He added that Masar is committed to supporting cooperation between the two sides to achieve their shared objectives.
Barakat said Thales is keen to expand cooperation with the Ministry of Military Production, praising the industrial, technological, human and infrastructure capabilities of its affiliated companies. He said those capabilities position them to implement joint projects that facilitate the adoption of the latest global technologies, localize technology, deepen domestic manufacturing, support global supply chains, and enhance export opportunities in overseas markets.