France has stepped up its weapons sales to Egypt by initiating negotiations on two more corvette warships.

A French diplomat said Saturday that talks have begun on adding two more naval corvettes to a previous order of four by Egypt during negotiations earlier in the day between officials in Cairo and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

“There is a bid for two more corvettes; the discussions are ongoing,” the source said after a meeting between Le Drian and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Egypt has already signed a contract with the French company DCNS to receive four Gowind-class corvettes in a USD 1.1-billion deal.

The request for more state-of-the-art vessels came days after Cairo took delivery of three of the 24 Rafale fighter jets it bought from Paris for USD 5.9 billion. Egypt has been the first country to buy the warplanes.

Le Drian is on an African tour, which will see him visit countries like the Central African Republic, Djibouti and Congo Brazzaville. Earlier in the day, he met senior Egyptian officials, including Sedki Sobhi, the country’s defense minister.

France’s increased sale of military equipment to Egypt comes against the backdrop of incessant efforts by Paris to broaden its presence in the Middle East military equations. The socialist government of President Francois Hollande has already sealed deals with Saudi Arabia for delivering weapons worth more than USD 12 billion.

Egypt, however, says it wants the jets and warships to improve its military capability in dealing with rising threats from an unstable Libya next door and also the militancy in its northern Sinai Peninsula.

Political activists and rights groups have slammed France for providing Cairo with the modern weaponry, saying the move could embolden Egypt in its ongoing crackdown on the dissent.

In February, Amnesty International voiced concern over France’s agreement to sell fighter planes and a frigate to Egypt, saying they could be used to commit rights violations in the North African country.

“We know that Egypt, with regards to its use of force, has not always been respectful of international law,” said Aymeric Elluin, head of advocacy at France Amnesty International.

Rights groups have also protested Cairo’s use of French-built Sherpa vehicles to repress anti-government protests over the past years.

Egypt has been the scene of massive anti-government protests with continuous clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, was ousted in July 2013 in a military coup led by Sisi, the then head of the Egyptian army.

Rights groups say the army’s crackdown on the supporters of Morsi has left nearly 1,500 people dead and 22,000 arrested, while dozens have been sentenced to death in mass trials.