Doha — French President Francois Hollande sought to boost ties in the Gulf Monday as he oversaw the signing of a warplanes deal with Qatar and headed to Saudi Arabia for a summit. Hollande was to be the first Western head of state to attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) during the meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday.
With Hollande in attendance, the CEO of French aerospace firm Dassault, Eric Trappier, signed the 6.3-billion-euro ($7-billion) deal with Qatari defense officials in Doha.
The agreement includes an order for 24 Rafale fighter jets, with an option on a further 12. Having struggled for years to sell any Rafales abroad, Dassault has recently scored several lucrative high-profile contracts with Egypt, India, and now Qatar.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said recently that talks with the United Arab Emirates on buying Rafales were also headed in the “right direction.” Hollande was to meet Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani before flying to Saudi Arabia for the GCC summit.
Tuesday's GCC summit will bring together leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Hollande's visit comes as Paris deepens political and economic relations with the Gulf.
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.
Qatar's Defense Minister Hamad Bin Ali Al-Attiyah and French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian inked a separate deal which will see France train 36 Qatari pilots and around 100 mechanical engineers, as well as intelligence officers. Rafale jets can be used for reconnaissance missions. — Agencies
