PARIS: France is on the verge of finalising a contract worth about 1bn euros ($1.1bn) for the sale of 24 Airbus-built military helicopters to Kuwait, a deal that highlights Paris’ growing commercial ties in the Middle East, officials said.
Elysee Palace said the deal is to be signed “as soon as possible” by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Khaled al-Jarrah al-Sabah.
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It is part of “a defence partnership that unites France and Kuwait”, Elysee said in a statement.
The contract – the latest to be agreed between Paris and a Gulf Arab state – comes after French President Francois Hollande was invited by Gulf Arab leaders in May to address their summit in Saudi Arabia, a rare privilege for a foreign head of state.
“In the framework of the defence partnership between France and Kuwait, the emir has expressed the wish … to equip his country’s air force with 24 Caracal type heavy helicopters. The contract will be signed soon,” Hollande’s office said after a telephone conversation between the French leader and Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah.
The French army uses the Caracal helicopter to transport soldiers including its special forces. It sold six EC725 Caracals to Tunisia at the end of 2014 for 300mn euros as the North African state seeks to tackle Islamist militants on its borders.
A French defence ministry official said the Kuwait contract was worth about 1bn euros and was agreed during a visit by Le Drian to Kuwait on June 6.
Over the past year, Paris has sealed more than $
