French President Francois Hollande is greeted by HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari at Hamad International Airport, on Monday.
AFP/Doha
Qatar signed a multibillion-dollar deal with French defence group Dassault on Monday to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets, in a ceremony attended by the leaders of both countries in Doha.
The contract was signed by Dassault CEO Eric Trappier and Qatari General Ahmed al-Malki, who oversaw negotiations for the €6.3bn ($7bn) deal.
French President Francois Hollande told General al-Malki during the ceremony that Qatar had made a "good choice" in purchasing the warplanes, an AFP correspondent said.
General al-Malki also signed an agreement on Monday with multinational missile group MBDA.
HE the Minister of State for Defence Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah and his 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.
Monday's ceremony was a "success for Dassault" and "the result of hard work by the team," Trappier said.
Having struggled for years to sell any of its Rafale jets 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".
