Strengthening military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and France...talks to buy “Rafale” aircraft
2024-05-02
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Within the framework of enhancing military cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of France, the Assistant Minister of Defense made an official visit to France, during which he met with a number of senior French officials. The visit included an inspection field tour of Dassault Aviation and Naval Group.
During the visit, the Assistant Minister of Defense met with his French counterpart, and they discussed ways to enhance military cooperation between the two countries, especially in the areas of technical and industrial cooperation, knowledge transfer and capabilities development.
The Assistant Minister of Defense also met with a number of senior officials in the French Ministry of Defense, and his counterparts in the French military institutions, and during the meetings a number of topics of common interest were discussed.
The Assistant Minister of Defense was keen to visit Dassault Aviation, one of the largest international companies in the field of manufacturing military aircraft, and saw closely the company’s latest advanced technologies in this field.
The Assistant Minister of Defense also visited the shipyard and submarine building of Naval Group, one of the leading companies in the field of manufacturing military ships and submarines, and learned about the company’s latest projects in this field.
This visit comes within the framework of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s keenness to strengthen its strategic relations with the Republic of France, especially in the military field. France is one of the Kingdom's most important partners in the field of armaments, as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has previously requested a quote for French “Rafale” aircraft.
Reliable media sources reported that there are serious talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of France regarding Riyadh’s purchase of French “Rafale” fighters.
The French newspaper “La Tribune” reported that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in talks with France in order to purchase up to 100 or more modern Rafale fighters.
The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Le Cornu, confirmed the veracity of this news during a press conference last year, without going into additional details, justifying this by saying that he was “not authorized to comment to the press” about the course of these talks.
This visit is a clear indication of the depth of the strategic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of France, and the keenness of the two countries to enhance cooperation in various fields, especially in the military field, in a way that contributes to achieving security and stability in the region.
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