Doha // Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the French President Francois Hollande signed on Monday a €6.3 billion agreement for the sale of 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets.
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 military.
Officials said the accord also provided for the training of a number of Qatari intelligence officers.
“It’s a good choice,” said Mr Hollande, who held talks with Sheikh Tamim and will go on later to Saudi Arabia, where he is due to become the first Western head of state to attend a GCC summit on Tuesday in Riyadh.
“If we are present here in Qatar... it is because there has been a long tradition, and because France is seen as a reliable country which a partner country can have confidence in,” Mr Hollande added.
Dassault has also resumed discussions over potential fighter sales to the UAE.
The GCC summit comes at a crucial time with a Saudi-led coalition bombing rebels in Yemen, concern over the rise of extremist militants and regional worries over a potential final nuclear deal with Iran.
At the signing ceremony, Hollande hailed France’s ties with Gulf countries and his invitation to the GCC summit.
“It is an honour for France, a sign of friendship and of confidence,” he said.
Hollande’s visit comes as Paris deepens political and economic relations with Qatar.
Qatari investors have taken stakes in major French companies including oil firm Total and luxury goods giant LVMH, and also own French football club Paris Saint-Germain.
*Reuters and Agence France-Presse
