Russia delivered Thursday a Molniya RKA-32 corvette to Egypt, which the military spokesperson said was received as a present from Russian counterparts.

Commander of the Egyptian Navy, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, and Commander of the Leningrad Naval Base, Rear Admiral Igor Smolyak, raised the Egyptian flag on the Molniya RKA 32 class missile boat at the naval base in Alexandria.

Smolyak described Egyptian-Russian military relations as strong, while Rabie emphasized that Moscow and Cairo share the same views about countering terrorism and protecting security in the Middle East.

According to the military spokesperson’s official Facebook page, an Egyptian team was provided specialized training to use the vessel, which highlighted extended cooperation between Egypt and Russia. The spokesperson added that Egypt wishes to gain more military expertise for its crew.

Following turbulence with the US after the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, Russia has become one of Egypt’s main arms deal partners, in an attempt to diversify weaponry sources.