France approves agreement to sell fighter jets to UAE

The United Arab Emirates has agreed with the French to buy dozens of Rafale fighter jets, according to Fars News Agency’s International Group.

According to the news agency «ReutersAbu Dhabi and Paris confirmed on Friday that the UAE is set to buy 80 Rafale aircraft from France.

“This agreement is the result of strategic cooperation between the two countries,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement. The Emirati people are said to have purchased twelve Caracal helicopters from France in addition to 80 Rafale fighter jets.

A few hours ago, Reuters quoted two French sources as saying that France would sign several big contracts with the Emirati people on Friday.

Abu Dhabi and Paris approve the deal to buy the fighter while French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in the UAE today (Friday) for a two-day visit. In addition to the UAE, Macron plans to travel to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Al-Jazeera news website, yesterday (Thursday), in a report, analyzed the reasons for Macron’s trip to the region at the present time and wrote: [عربی حاشیه] Gulf [فارس]”Macron will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Defense Minister Florence Parley, Economy Minister Bruno Lamir, along with the Minister of Foreign Trade, the Minister of Culture and the heads of several large French companies.”

Al Jazeera says that although the Elysee Palace statement was brief and did not mention the most important issues to be discussed during the trip, some observers have predicted that the Lebanese crisis with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states [فارس]Iran’s nuclear program, world oil prices, the Yemeni war, the Libyan elections, developments in the Palestinian issue, Saudi-Iranian relations will be among the most important topics on the table and will be addressed in the Macron agenda. (More details)

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