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

The army held a ceremony at the marine base in Alexandria raising the flag on the warship in the presence of a Russian military delegation headed by Admiral Igor Smolyak, commander of the Leningrad naval base.

According to the military spokesperson’s official Facebook page, an Egyptian team was provided specialised 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 Mohmed Morsi, Russia has become one of Egypt’s main arms deal partners, in an attempt to diversify weaponry sources.