France signs weapons mega-deal with UAE as Macron tours Gulf

NICE, Dec 03 (AP): France announced the signing Friday of a 16 billion-euro ($18 billion) armaments mega-contract for the sale of 80 of its upgraded Rafale warplanes to the United Arab Emirates.

The French Defence Ministry said the deal was France's largest-ever weapons contract for export. It came as French President Emmanuel Macron is in the Emirates on the first stop of a two-day visit to the Persian Gulf. There was no immediate confirmation of the signing from Emirati officials.

Manufacturer Dassault Aviation said the UAE is buying the upgraded F4 version of its multi-role combat aircraft. That will make the Emirates Air Force the first Rafale F4 user outside of France, it said.

The deal offers a shot in the arm for France's defence industry after the collapse of a $66 billion contract for Australia to buy 12 French submarines.

Dassault Aviation boss Eric Trappier called the sale "a French success story" and "excellent news for France and for its aeronautical industry."

The purchase marks a sizeable step up for the UAE's military capabilities in the oil- and gas-rich region. Charles Forrester, a senior analyst at Janes, said the fighter "will significantly upgrade UAE's airpower capabilities in terms of strike, air-to-air warfare, and reconnaissance."

Dassault said the Rafale will give the UAE "a tool capable of guaranteeing sovereignty and operational independence."

Macron and Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, were present at the contract signing, it said.

French defence officials were jubilant. The defence minister, Florence Parly, said the deal "directly contributes to regional stability."

France has deep ties to the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The UAE opened a French naval base in 2009 at Abu Dhabi's Port Zayed. French warplanes and personnel are also stationed at Al-Dhafra Air Base, a major facility outside the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi that's also home to several thousand American troops.

Macron's keen interest in forging personal relationships with Abu Dhabi's crown prince and his counterpart in Saudi Arabia, Mohamed bin Salman Al Saud, makes him a welcome guest in the region. Both Gulf leaders value a degree of pragmatism when discussing democracy and human rights - issues on which their countries have been heavy criticized by rights groups and European lawmakers - while pursuing business opportunities.

Months after Macron was elected in 2017, he traveled to the UAE to inaugurate Louvre Abu Dhabi, built under a $1.2 billion agreement to share the name and art of the world-famous museum in Paris.