France, Qatar seal $7-bn Rafale jet deal

PARIS, Qatar has agreed to buy 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets in a 6.3-billion-euro ($7 billion) deal, the French government said on Thursday, as the Gulf Arab state looks to boost its military firepower in an increasingly unstable region.Tensions in the Middle East with conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Libya, as well as concerns over Shia Muslim power Iran’s growing influence in the area, have fuelled a desire across Sunni Gulf Arab states to modernize their military hardware.The contract — the third this year for Dassault 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 army, a French Defence Ministry official said.”The president spoke to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, who confirmed his desire to buy 24 Rafale combat planes,” President Francois Hollande’s office said. Hollande will travel to Doha on May 4 to sign the contract before heading to Saudi Arabia as an honorary guest at a summit of Gulf Arab leaders.

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