France, Qatar sign $7-b Rafale deal.

President Francois Hollande and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani signed recently a €6.3-billion ($7.02 billion) agreement for the sale of 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets.

The contract - the third this year for Dassault AVMD.PA after deals to sell Rafale jets to Egypt and India - also includes MBDA missiles, and the training of 36 Qatari pilots and 100 technicians by the French military.

Officials said the accord also provided for the training of a number of Qatari intelligence officers.

'It's a good choice,' said Hollande, who had talks with Sheikh Tamim and will go on later to Saudi Arabia, where he is due to attend a summit recently of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh.

Hollande cited major power talks over Iran's nuclear programme, in which Paris has pursued a tough stance with Tehran, the main regional rival of Gulf Arab states, as an example of France's reliability in the region. 'We will be vigilant so that this accord truly guarantees that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon. For all these reasons I've been invited to the GCC summit. It's a mark of confidence ... that France is there for its allies when it is called upon.'

France, a UN Security Council veto-holder, has held out for strict terms on Iran in any deal to ease sanctions on Tehran in return for monitoring and curbs on its nuclear programme.

Hollande said there could be options for further sales of the plane in Qatar. Dassault is also in talks aimed at supplying 16 of the multi-role combat jets to Malaysia and has resumed discussions over potential fighter sales to another Gulf Arab state, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Highlighting the possibilities in the region, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian flew to Abu Dhabi on Saturday ahead of the Qatar signing ceremony.

Le Drian, seen as the architect of Rafale's recent successes, met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed for an hour to discuss the jets, two years after talks with the UAE on the warplanes stalled. The discussions went well, two diplomatic sources said, with one adding that negotiations were in an 'active phase'.


HBL